Directors Guild Secures Job Protections and AI Safeguards in New Four-Year Contract

The DGA announced the full terms of its tentative four-year deal with the AMPTP on Friday, three days after the provisional agreement was announced. A central job-protection measure limits 'affiliated hires'—people already employed on a scripted TV series in another capacity who have no directing track record—from taking episodic directing slots, a move aimed at preserving work for career directors amid a steep production downturn. Studios also committed to sending senior executives, not just the Motion Picture Association, to lobby Congress for a federal tax incentive to bring productions back from overseas, and a labor bulletin was secured forbidding employers and agents from explicitly excluding DGA directors from non-U.S. or Canadian jobs. On AI, the deal enshrines that footage generated by AI falls under a director's creative purview just as camera-captured footage does, and includes transparency requirements, licensing notice provisions, and a new employer-funded skills enhancement program. The health plan will receive nearly a 25% increase in employer contributions over the life of the deal—the largest in the union's history—though members will face modest cost increases including monthly premiums, higher deductibles, and raised earnings eligibility thresholds, mirroring concessions the WGA made earlier this year. Wage increases are set at 2.5% in year one and 3% annually for the remaining three years, alongside certain residuals increases. DGA president Christopher Nolan, who led the union into negotiations beginning May 11, called the outcome a success on the three priorities of health plan security, job protection, and AI safeguards.