The DGA represents 19,000 members[1] and is one of Hollywood’s major labor unions, comparable to the Writers Guild Association and the Screen Actors Guild & American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Negotiations with AMP-TP paved the way for a “historic new contract,” says Jon Avnet, chair of the DGA’s Negotiations Committee. Avnet relays that the negotiated contract “provides significant improvements for every Director, Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Director, and Stage Manager in our guild.[2]
This cutting-edge contract affords DGA members up to a 12.5% wage increase over the next three years, while earning 76% more in residuals from internationally re-aired television. New safety measures will expand training programs and prohibit the presence of live ammunition on set.[1]
What truly makes this agreement groundbreaking can be found in its reference to AI. Now a shared concern among many industries, AI harbors the capability to drastically change the future of labor, threatening to replace jobs that would otherwise be filled by a human work force. But the DGA may no longer need to worry about the implications of AI’s advancement. A clause in their new agreement provides that AI is not a person and therefore cannot replace duties performed by members of the Guild. [2]
This revolutionary contract implies a new precedent concerning the future of AI within the writing industry. Other industries may follow suit in addressing their stance on AI - whether it is to be integrated or shunned.
[1] Del Barco, M. (2023, June 6). The latest on the union strikes in Hollywood. WMFE. https://www.wmfe.org/2023-06-06/the-latest-on-the-union-strikes-in-hollywood
[2] DGA Tentative Agreement Achieves Historic Breakthroughs on Key Global, Economic, Creative Rights, and Safety Issues -. (n.d.). https://www.dga.org/News/PressReleases/2023/230603-DGA-and-AMPTP-Reach-Tentative-Agreement.aspx
