Directors guild and Hollywood studios reach tentative agreement as SAG prepares for its own strike

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The directors guild and major Hollywood studios have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.

According to the Directors Guild of America's website, the deal includes wage increases totaling 12% throughout the three years and provides a 76% increase in streaming residuals.

"We have concluded a truly historic deal," said Jon Avnet, chair of the DGA's Negotiations Committee, in a statement posted on DGA's website. "It provides significant improvements for every Director, Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Director and Stage Manager in our Guild. In these negotiations we made advances on wages, streaming residuals, safety, creative rights and diversity, as well as securing essential protections for our members on new key issues like artificial intelligence - ensuring DGA members will not be replaced by technological advances. This deal would not have been possible without the unity of the DGA membership, and we are grateful for the strong support of union members across the industry."

The tentative contract also states artificial intelligence is not a person, and cannot replace duties performed by members.

Below is a full breakdown of the new agreement, according to the DGA.

• 5% wage increase in the first year of the contract, 4% in the second year and 3.5% in the third year.

• Additional 0.5% to fund a new parental leave benefit

• 76% increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms so that residuals for a one-hour episode will now be roughly $90,000 for the first three exhibition years.

• AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members

• Established the industry's first terms and conditions for directors and their teams on non-dramatic (variety and reality) programs made for SVOD.

• Improved residuals and for the first time, associate directors and stage managers will now share in the residuals.

• Creative rights protections, working conditions and residuals for scripted dramatic projects made for free to the consumer streaming services such as Freevee, Tubi and Roku.

• Unit production managers and assistant directors will share in the residuals.

• First-time compensation for the months of "soft prep" feature directors currently perform for free prior to the start of the director's official prep period.

• For Pay TV and SVOD, episodic directors won expanded paid post-production creative rights; and gained an additional guaranteed shoot day for one-hour programs - the first additional day added in more than 40 years.

• Unprecedented reduction in the length of the assistant director's day by one hour.

• Pilot program to require the employment of dedicated safety supervisors; expanded safety training programs for both directors and their teams, and the ban of live ammunition on set.

Meanwhile, the WGA's roughly 20,000 members have been on strike since May 2 with no end in sight.

The union's leaders said in a statement posted to its website prior to Saturday's announcement that an agreement between directors and producers would not end the strike.

"Our position is clear,'' the WGA statement said. "To resolve the strike, the companies will have to negotiate with the WGA on our full agenda. The era of divide and conquer is over.''

The DGA as well as the SAG-AFTRA actors' union have expressed support for the writers, something the WGA said was not the case during its 2007-2008 strike, when directors went their own way.

"This year is different,'' the WGA statement said. "Every union in town came out in support of the WGA, both during negotiations and after the start of the strike. The DGA has been clear that it is facing a tough and critical negotiation to address its members' needs. Yesterday, we joined a statement along with SAG-AFTRA, IATSE (behind the scenes talent) and Teamsters 399 (casting, drivers, logistics) in solidarity with the DGA in their negotiations. SAG-AFTRA is taking a strike authorization vote as they enter negotiations to address the existential issues its members are facing. Teamsters, IATSE, and other entertainment union members have been honoring WGA picket lines across the country.''

The WGA said the producers negotiation tactic "only works if unions are divided.''

SAG/AFTRA is set to begin its negotiations with producers on Wednesday and has already asked its members to approve authorization for a strike, if necessary. Ballots are due at 5 p.m. Monday.

SAG.AFTRA is concerned about much of the same issues as the WGA and DGA.

"When I joined in 1977 there was no such thing as a streaming service that really changes and alters how you are able to make a living the best sign I saw was you have two houses I have two jobs and that couldn't be truer," said JC Henning, a SAG/AFTRA member.

As for the DGA agreement, it still needs the approval of its National Board, which is set to consider it during a special meeting Tuesday.

DGA officials said the specific details of the tentative agreement will be released after it has been submitted to the Board.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.