The Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represent Hollywood studios, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The deal represents a victory for entertainment industry unions, who have been seeking adjusted contracts this summer.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Directors Guild of America will receive a 5% wage increase in the first year of the contract, 4% in the second year, and 3.5% in the third year. In addition, the deal stipulates that generative AI cannot replace the duties of members, as the technology is not considered a person.
According to Jon Avnet, chair of the DGA's Negotiations Committee, "we have concluded a truly historic deal. 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.”
The agreement may provide hope for other industry unions advocating for higher pay and staffing insurances, as many Hollywood employees face contract expirations mid-summer. The Writers Guild of America, which represents over 11,000 screenwriters, has been on strike since May, prompting the industry's biggest film and TV studios to halt payments to some writer-producers.
One of the top concerns for Hollywood workers is the use of AI in the writers room, as media companies begin implementing new technology into their content creation process. In addition, the market saturation of streaming content has introduced rapid changes in staffing needs, which has led some Hollywood studios to conduct mass layoffs.
Ahead of the DGA negotiations this past weekend, the Writers Guild of America released a statement, alongside other guilds, saying they stand in solidarity with the union.
The tentative agreement is set to be submitted to the Directors Guild of America National Board at a special meeting on Tuesday. If approved, it will mark a significant step forward for Hollywood unions seeking fairer contracts and protections for their members.