DGA Members Extol Virtues Of Strong Pension & Health Benefits As Contract Talks Loom – Watch Video

David Robb
Updated ·3 min read

The DGA, which begins its contract negotiations on May 10, is stressing the importance of “ensuring reliable pension funding to safeguarding access to industry-leading health care.” In a video that features DGA members talking about the pension and health benefits they’ve received, the guild says that “We’re fighting for our future.”

“The Directors Guild was there for me in 2019 when I donated a kidney so that my husband could get a kidney, and I can’t express what a gift that was that truly saved my family,” said a tearful Millicent Shelton, whose many directing credits include Black-ish and Empire.

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See the video here.

“Being part of a guild and having a pension is very, very important, especially all of us will have to retire one day,” said Canella Williams-Larrabee, a unit production manager whose credits include NCIS: New Orleans. “The Directors Guild is known for having some of the best health care out there. So it’s health care that I have for me and my family, for my kid.”

“I don’t think I could possibly overstate the importance of the DGA retirement plan in my career,” said Arthur Lewis, stage manager for this year’s Academy Awards and numerous other live events, including the Tonys, the Grammys, Saturday Night Live and three presidential inaugural events. “Working as a freelancer in New York, in a given month I might have six different employers, and the stability that the guild has provided in establishing a pipeline for there to be a pension and compensation for me in retirement is a tremendous relief.”

“The DGA is famous in the industry for having the best health care plan of any of the crafts,” said director Michael Spiller, whose credits include Modern Family and The Mindy Project. “My wife just underwent major surgery. I just had my eyes done. I’m not wearing glasses. It was seamless and so easy to do. My kids are protected. And I just got my statement for my pension plan, and that’s looking really healthy, even when the market was in a big downturn. These things are critical to the security of being a freelancer. You know, it was unheard of in many industries in the creative arts to have that sort of support.

In addition to pension and health benefits, the DGA has said that the other “big issues” at stake in the upcoming talks include:

  • Winning strong wage increases that help members address the rising cost of living.

  • Ensuring our SVOD residuals program accounts for the growing global audience.

  • Improving safety on the set.

  • Fighting to protect the role and vision of all directors, and, in particular, television directors.

  • Increasing diversity and strengthening the voice of under-represented people throughout the industry.

Noting that the upcoming negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers promises to be “one of the most difficult and complex we have faced in many years,” the DGA has said that “This year’s negotiations are about more than bargaining a strong contract for the next three years – they’re about setting the course for the future of our industry and ensuring the sustainability of hundreds of thousands of good, union jobs.”

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