The Directors Guild of America will change its typical course of action when it comes to contract negotiations this year.
Instead of earlier in the year as it has in the past, the organization will not begin negotiations ahead of its contract expiration this June until “later this spring.”
“Our approach to bargaining is, and has always been, guided by one simple principle: We will only negotiate when we believe we will win the best possible deal,” DGA’s Jon Avnet, Karen Gaviola, Todd Holland and Russ Hollander wrote in a letter to members on Saturday.
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The letter continued, “In other negotiations cycles, we have won strong gains by waiting to negotiate until later in the process. Some of our most important gains, including the establishment of our groundbreaking Pay TV residuals formula, have been won when we negotiated closer to the expiration of our contract.”
The leaders explained that the day they begin bargaining doesn’t matter. Instead, what’s important is that studios will decide to address the concerns of the DGA members, including wages, streaming residuals, safety, creative rights and diversity. If studios do not address the issues, “they know we are prepared to fight.”
The DGA and studios are partners, Avnet, Gaviola, Holland and Hollander explained, and that means that its members should be treated fairly and with respect.
The organization wants a new contract “that recognizes and rewards our vital contributions to this industry no matter how it evolves,” the letter read, “that reinforces our shared interest in building a healthy, vibrant, stable business that will entertain and inspire audiences around the world.”
This year’s cycle of DGA negotiations is about more than just bargaining for a strong contract for the next three years. “They are about setting the course for the future of our industry,” they concluded, ” and that is what we’re going to achieve.”
