The Directors Guild of America has reached a tentative agreement with television networks ABC, CBS and NeBC for wage and other increases for news, sports and operations employees.
The DGA National Board of Directors voted unanimously over the weekend to send the new agreement to members for ratification, the labor union said on Tuesday.
The three-year contract covers staff and freelancers who work for the aforementioned television networks and at a number of their locally-owned affiliate stations.
The “Network Agreement — which covers wage, pension and other gains — is separate from the union’s “Basic Agreement,” which is also negotiated every three years.
The new terms include the following:
-Wages and fees will increase by 2 percent in the first year of the contract, and 2.5 percent in both the second and third years for a compounded wage increase of 7.2 percent over the full three-year term of the contract.
-Increased employer contribution to the DGA-Producer Pension Plan by 0.5 percent, to a total of 6 percent. In the second and third years of the contract, the DGA will also have the right to divert 0.5 percent of the negotiated wage increase to either the DGA pension or health plan.
-Provisions to address opportunities for DGA members to work on new media projects and assignments.
-Provisions to address various concerns of local station directors related to jurisdiction, long hours and compensation.
Talks between the DGA’s negotiations committee and ABC, CBS and NBC began in September in New York and ended in early October.
The Committee was headed by Chair John LiBretto and Associate National Executive Director Russell Hollander, with Co-Chairs Scott Berger and Brett Holey also assisting.
“In an environment in which local stations, sports and news operations face ever-increasing pressures, it is a testament to both the skill of the Negotiations Committee and to the high value that our members continue to bring to news, sports and operations that the Committee was able to negotiate this agreement,” DGA President Paris Barclay said in a statement.
The Guild’s current contract with the networks expires on June 30, 2017. If and when ratified, the new contract will cover the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020.