Directors Guild of Canada BC Calls Vote for Strike Mandate

Union fighting for respect, fairness and safety for its members

VANCOUVER, BC, April 4, 2022 /CNW/ - The Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council (DGC BC), has called a vote for a strike mandate. The call comes as year-long negotiations with the bargaining representatives of the producers, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Canadian Media Producers Association, have broken off.  DGC BC members - which include the creative and logistical personnel in the film and television industry in British Columbia ? from the entry level Production Assistant to the Director calling the shots ? have been without a collective agreement for a full year.

"For the first time in our history, the DGC BC is calling on its members to vote in favour of a strike," says Allan Harmon, District Council Chairman, DGC BC. "We have bargained in good faith for a full year, but the Employers' bargaining team has been unwilling to engage on our most important issues and has kept demanding more and more clawbacks throughout the process.  Despite our willingness to compromise on significant issues, they kept moving the goalposts, making it impossible to get a fair deal for our people."

The DGC BC is fighting for respect, fairness and safety for those working under its collective agreement, especially the people in the lowest paid and most vulnerable positions, which includes those from diverse and underrepresented groups in the industry.

"It is incredibly perplexing and disheartening that the same studios and production companies who are actively engaged in efforts to diversify the workforce and attract folks from underrepresented groups, are, at the very same time, fighting against fair wages and treatment for our entry level employees. These are the very jobs in which these new industry entrants will begin," says Kendrie Upton, Executive Director, DGC BC.

The main issues at hand are:

• Minimum wage differentials: as minimum wage increases, so should all wage rates of lower-paid positions
• Payment terms for COVID testing
• Retroactivity of wage increases to the expiry of the last collective agreement
• Employer clawbacks to the current collective agreement

Voting will begin at 9:00 AM PT on Wednesday, April 6 and close at 5:00 PM PT on Thursday, April 7.

About the DGC BC
The Directors Guild of Canada, B.C. District Council (DGC BC) represents the creative and logistical personnel in the film and television industry in British Columbia. The DGC BC Collective Agreement covers the categories of Director, 2nd Unit Director, Production & Unit Manager, plus those employed in the various Assistant Director and Locations Departments, including entry level Production Assistants. 
https://www.dgc.ca/en/british-columbia/ 

SOURCE Directors Guild of Canada - BC District Council