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The Directors Guild of America today announced that the National Board of Directors has approved a tentative new national commercial contract to be sent to the membership for ratification.

The agreement was negotiated with the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, Inc. (AICP) and covers a three-year term from December 1, 2017 – November 30, 2020.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• Wage increases of 2.5% in the first year of the contract and 3% in each of the second and third years of the contract.

• A permanent increase in the employer contribution rate to the DGA Pension Plan by one-half percent (.5%) in the first year of the agreement from 5.5% to 6%. The DGA will also have the right to allocate up to .5% of the negotiated increases in salary rates in the second and third years of the Agreement to the DGA Pension Plan or DGA Health Plan. 

• Establishment of mandatory safety training for Assistant Directors and Unit Production Managers to support their roles in helping the employer maintain best practices and a safe working environment.

Other highlights include outsized wage gains for Second Assistant Directors, increases in the base upon which pension and health contributions are made on behalf of Directors, and a commitment from the AICP to further develop the Director Diversity Program established in the 2014 negotiations.

Negotiations with the AICP took place during three separate periods between August and October of this year and were led by Associate National Executive Director Bryan Unger, Eastern Executive Director Neil Dudich, and a DGA member negotiations committee.

The DGA’s National Board voted unanimously at a special board meeting on Saturday to approve the agreement and send it to the membership for ratification.

“In the face of a rapidly changing advertising industry, our Commercial Negotiations Committee achieved a solid agreement securing significant benefits for our members working in commercials,” said DGA President Thomas Schlamme. “This contract will grow this area of work for years to come.”

“Throughout the process, we were focused on working with the AICP to find practical solutions to challenges on both sides, and it paid off,” said Unger. “We are pleased that the new agreement will keep our members working, securing their retirement benefits and important wage gains – while also allowing producers the flexibility they need to keep this global industry thriving.”

Ratification materials will be sent to members this week.