The Directors Guild of America (DGA) defended their three-year contract with streamers and studios due to social media criticism, says The Hollywood Reported.

The DGA sent an email to its members on Wednesday with the subject line reading, “Setting the Record Straight.” The union, representing directors, assistant directors, and unit production and stage managers, protested the “recent news articles and social media posts misrepresenting the extraordinary gains we made.”

The email further praised the deal, which included a new foreign residuals formula that “will result in a 76% increase.” It also talked up the contract's newly created terms and conditions for high-budget shows made for advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms.

The email's contents, which was originally reported by The Ankler, focused on how the Directors Guild of America was “the first union to negotiate artificial intelligence protections that guarantee that generative AI cannot be used to perform your jobs.”

The directors' union is defending the contract because critics have compared it to the WGA members voting an overwhelming 99% in support of the deal. Only 87% of the DGA members voted in support.

One other difference between the two guilds is that the writers went on strike; the directors didn't. In fact, the DGA struck a tentative deal with the studios and streaming platforms on June 3 — 32 days after the WGA started their strike. The actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, went on strike more than a month later.

However, the DGA has long held a different negotiation strategy from their sister guilds. The directors also have a relatively agreeable relationship with streamers and studios.

The DGA usually negotiates months in advance, with the belief that conversations without the threat of a strike is a better strategy to gain higher ground. The WGA, on the other hand, believes the opposite: that only the real possibility of a strike can bring entertainment companies to give the union members what they want.

Nevertheless, the DGA and its representatives have shown up to the writers' and actors' rallies. The directors' guild have also pledged to show up for SAG-AFRA members, who are in the middle of talks with the studios and streaming companies, as well as two other unions who have upcoming negotiations in 2024.

The directors' union commented on the WGA deal ratified on Tuesday, “Now there are two Guilds who are happy with the advances they’ve made.” The DGA email also adds, “We will be there for the I.A.T.S.E. and Teamsters in their fights next year.”