The film daily year book of motion pictures (1940)

Producer-Screen Directors Guild BASIC AGREEMENT OF 1939 AGREEMENT AGREEMENT executed at Los Angeles, California, as of March 13, 1939, between SCREEN DIRECTORS GUILD, INC., a California non-profit membership corporation, hereinafter called the "Guild," and severally TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX FILM CORPORATION, LOEWS INCORPORATED, COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA, LTD., SAMUEL GOLDWYN INC., LTD., WARNER BROS. PICTURES, INC., PARAMOUNT PICTURES, INC., RKO-RADIO PICTURES, INC., UNIVERSAL PICTURES COMPANY, INC., and such other parties engaged in the production of motion pictures as may hereafter severally become signatories hereto, each hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "producer" or the "producers," and sometimes as "company" or "companies," WITNESSETH : In consideration of the mutual agreements herein contained, the parties agree as follows: Article I Recognition SECTION A: The Guild is recognized by the producers and each of them and will be during the term of this agreement, as the sole collective bargaining agent for all directors and first and second assistant directors in the motion picture industry. SECTION B: For the purpose of this agreement, it is agreed that: 1. 'Director! A director is one who directs the production of motion pictures, as the word "direct" is commonly used in the industry. The fact that he may also render services as a producer and/or writer in any other capacity shall not take him out of the classification of directors, with reference to any work performed by him as a director, and dur. ing the period of such work. 2. First Assistant Director: A first assistant director, in addition to the performance of other duties, acts as an assistant to the director. 3. Second Assistant Director: A second assistant director, in addition to the performance of other duties, acts as an assistant to the first assistant director, for the purpose of relieving him of many details. 4. Unit Manager: A unit manager, in addition to the performance of other duties, acts as an assistant to the production manager of the studio and/or the producer and is a channel through which the production office maintains contact with the shooting unit, and anyone who performs these duties shall be deemed to be either a unit manager or a first assistant director, to the extent that persons rendering such services as of March 13, 1939, have been so regarded First and second assistant directors and unit man agers are defined as said terms are severally anil commonly understood at the respective studios of the producers signatory hereto as of March 13, 1939. Some producers do not employ unit managers and some do not employ them in connection with all productions, and in the instances in which unit mana gers are not employed the functions performed by unit managers are wholly or partially performed by first assistant directors and/or by the production departments of such studios. Where both unit managers and assistant directors are employed by a producer, or where a unit man ager is occasionally employed on individual produc tions, the functions of the unit manager relate sub stantially but not entirely to business functions, and those of assistant directors relate substantially but not entirely to functions more directly under or with the director on the set. It is recognized, however, that any individual may sometimes work as an assistant director and sometimes as a unit manager. SECTION C: 1. It is the intent of this agreement to include in the classification of unit managers present and future employees who perform the duties actually being performed by unit managers as of March 13, 1939, at the respective studios then employing unit managers. It is agreed both with reference to first and second assistant directors, and unit managers as well, that working conditions will not be changed by reason of the execution of the Basic Agreement. The pur pose of this provision is primarily to avoid reduction in working hours so as to pay less money or to avoid delegating to employees of other classifications the duties of the first and second assistants and unit managers, but nothing in this agreement contained shall be construed so as to oblige any producer to continue with its present relative setup as between unit managers and first and second assistants. 2. Although it is recognized that the duties of first and second assistant directors and the duties of unit managers differ among the various producers and on various assignments, it is understood that the actual working conditions of each producer on March 13, 1939, are to be considered in any inter pretation of this agreement, and that it is an element of good faith of, and part of the consideration for this Basic Agreement that no producer will make such a general rearrangement of duties or changed classifications of employment for the purpose of defeating the purpose and intent of Article I. Section A, and Article II, Section A. 3. In the case of producers not maintaining the unit manager system (this includes producers pro ducing five or more pictures a year in which a single unit manager is permanently employed and such producers, and other producers by which unit mana gers may be employed occasionally but not as a part 790