The Directors Guild of America announced Tuesday that its members have "overwhelmingly" voted to ratify a new master TV and feature-film contract with producers.
The guild wrapped up a three-week negotation on a new collective bargaining agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Dec. 7.
"The extraordinarily positive response by DGA members demonstrates their support for the new contract," said guild president Taylor Hackford, in a statement. "We achieved significant gains including a sizeable increase in contributions on regular compensation, first-time contributions on completion of assignment pay and vacation pay, and the establishment of a new tier in basic cable, among other important gains."
With the negotations occuring after the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of TV and Radio Artists jointly carved out their own master contracts with the AMPTP, the DGA's collective bargaining followed pattern, with minimum wage increases set at only 2 percent for the life of the three-year deal.
The AMPTP added in a statement: "The ratification by DGA members is more good news for our industry as we work to recover from the historic recession. The kind of management-labor stability that we are now achieving will help us create new jobs both in our industry and in the many companies that rely on our industry for business. The new agreement will also strengthen the DGA benefit plans at a critical time and ensure that they remain a vital resource for members."
