The Directors Guild of America is defending its latest three-year contract agreement with studios and streamers amid criticism on social media and, it claims, in the press.
In an email message to members on Wednesday with the subject line “Setting the Record Straight,” the union decried “a number of recent news articles and social media posts misrepresenting the extraordinary gains we made.” The message touted the deal’s gains in areas including its new foreign residuals formula, which the guild says will “result in a 76% increase in foreign residuals” and the contract’s creation of terms and conditions for high-budget non-dramatic streaming programs and scripted dramatic shows made for AVOD platforms. The email, which was first reported on by The Ankler, emphasized that the union was “the first union to negotiate artificial intelligence protections that guarantee that generative AI cannot be used to perform your jobs.”
The message additionally emphasized changes to the contract including wage increases (5 percent in the first year, 4 percent in the second year and 3.5 percent in the third year of the deal), contributions to the union’s health and pension plans and the union’s new parental leave benefit.
The guild stated, “We achieved these hard-fought gains because of our unity and resolve, and the more than a year and a half of research and preparation that preceded the start of our formal negotiations, as well as the support we received from our sister Guilds and Unions.” It added, “The misguided articles and social media posts that seek to misrepresent our contract and sow division between the Guilds only benefit the studios and streamers.”
More to come.
