The Directors Guild of America has reached a tentative new three-year agreement for staffers at ABC, CBS and NBC and sent the pact to members for ratification.
The contract covers staff and freelance members employed in news, sports and operations at the companies’ television networks and many of their owned local television stations. The DGA national board of directors has unanimously approved the agreement.
The new deal will cover the period of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023. It includes increased wages and fees by 2.5% in each of the three years; the right to divert up to 2% of the negotiated wage increase to the DGA Pension or Health Plan; and provisions securing work opportunities for members who work in sports.
The negotiations between the DGA’s Network Negotiations Committee and ABC, CBS and NBC began mid-September in New York and concluded at the end of the month. The committee was headed by co-chairs Brett Holey of NBC News, Lily Olszewski of “Good Morning America,” Scott Berger of “CBS Evening News” and DGA eastern executive director Neil Dudich.
DGA president Thomas Schlamme said in a statement, “News, sports and local television collectively reach massive audiences, and the contributions of our members who work in these areas are absolutely critical to the success of these operations. This deal is a testament to that value. That’s especially meaningful in the context of the industry’s changing business environment, and makes the results obtained by our Network Negotiations Committee all the more impressive.”
The contract is separate from the DGA’s Basic Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The current three-year master contract expires on June 30. No date has been set yet for the start of those negotiations.