DGA members approve the new agreement with AMPTP

Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced on Friday, June 23, that the members of the organization voted on the new collective agreements between the DGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). As previously reported by The Blast, the DGA National Council unanimously approved the new agreement with AMPTP earlier this month.

DGA members vote in favor of the new agreement with AMPTP

Lesli Linka Glatter, president of the DGA, announced the vote on Friday. Union members approved the three-year agreement with an 87% majority in favor of the deal. 41% of the 16,321 eligible members of the DGA voted for the new contract. That’s 6,728 deputies voted on the issue.

Commenting on the news, President Glatter said in a press release: “I am proud to announce that DGA members have come together to ratify the new contract, which will allow all directors, assistant directors, unit production managers, associate directors and stage managers. to share in the success of what we create.” Glatter continued: “Our new contract provides the benefits of wages, global streaming residuals, security, diversity and creative rights that are built for the future and impact all members of our Guild. The strength of our new contract is a testament to our negotiating committee chair Jon Avnet, negotiating co-chairs Karen Gaviola and Todd Holland, national managing director Russell Hollander, and our excellent professional staff.”

The news comes as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) continues to face a labor dispute against the AMPTP. The WGA strike is now in its second month. Additionally, AMPTP has until June 30 to reach a new agreement with the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA. If a new contract is not signed by then, SAG-AFTRA could call another strike against the AMPTP.

As The Blast noted, SAG-AFTRA members have already voted overwhelmingly to authorize the strike. This means that the National Board of SAG-AFTRA can call a strike as early as July 1 if a new contract is not reached by the June 30 deadline.

The DGA said in a statement that the new agreement with AMPTP includes “significant improvements” for members across all categories, including significant advances in wages, global streaming residuals, security, diversity and creative rights. The agreements also include provisions confirming that generative AI cannot replace members’ duties, as generative AI has become a major talking point in union negotiations with AMPTP.

While the voting members of the DGA voted mainly in favor of ratifying the new agreement, there were some dissenting opinions. Filmmaker Lilly Wachowski (“The Matrix,” “Speed ​​Racer”) announced on Twitter earlier this month that she would vote no on the deal, writing, “So the vote to ratify the 2023-2026 agreement between DGA and AMPTP ended. a week from Friday and decided to vote no. I know I often have a ‘rock throwing’ POV and I have to check and recheck that instinct often. Quite a lot!”

So the vote to ratify the 2023-2026 agreement between DGA and AMPTP ends one week from Friday and I have decided to vote no. I know that I often have a “stone throwing” POV and often have to check and recheck that instinct. Quite a lot!

– Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) June 15, 2023

“Borat” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” director Larry Charles also disagreed with the new deal, saying he would vote no. He tweeted earlier June, “I VOTED NO. I am and have been very lucky. And amazingly, I’m also a writer and director. And in this privileged situation, I voted on my conscience for the new DGA contract. Here are my reasons below. Dirt.”

DGA’s new contract with AMPTP officially starts on July 1. The contract runs until June 30, 2026.