DGA Reelects Negotiating Committee Chairs Jon Avnet and Karen Gaviola for 2026

The national board of the Directors Guild of America has re-elected Jon Avnet and Karen Gaviola as the chair and vice chair of the union’s negotiating committee ahead of next year’s bargaining agreement talks with studios.

Avnet has served on the DGA negotiating committee for the past five contract cycles and was chair for the 2020 and 2023 contracts. Gaviola has served on the committee for the last six cycles and was elected vice chair for the first time in 2023.

National executive director Russell Hollander will serve as chief negotiator. The rest of the negotiating committee, which consists of Directors, Assistant Directors, Unit Production Managers, Associate Directors and Stage Managers, will be elected later this year.

“In these challenging times, it’s hard to believe that we are already gearing up for the next round of negotiations with the Studios,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter. “As we do in every round, the DGA spends an enormous amount of time and resources conducting thorough research to understand the issues facing our members and our industry, while preparing to best represent their economic and creative interests at the bargaining table.”

“Jon and Karen were instrumental to helping steer the Guild in our most recent round, which resulted in major economic gains and creative protections. Our entire membership will once again have the benefit of their experience and deep understanding of the industry,” Glatter continued.

Avnet’s directorial credits include the 1991 Oscar-nominated film “Fried Green Tomatoes” as well as 11 episodes of the FX neo-western series “Justified.” He currently serves as a National Board member and on the Western Directors Council, and is Co-Chair of the DGA’s AI Committee and a Trustee for the DGA Pension and Health Plans. 

Gaviola is a veteran TV director whose credits include episodes of “Lost,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “The Walking Dead,” and most recently, “The Boys.” She currently serves as an Alternate on the DGA National Board and the Western Directors Council. She is Chair of the DGA Safety Committee and is a member of the TV Director Creative Rights Committee, Diversity Task Force, and serves as a Trustee for the DGA Pension and Health Plans.

Their return to the negotiating committee comes the same day as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates with the DGA and other unions on behalf of studios, announced that former AFTRA national executive director Greg Hessinger will succeed the retiring Carol Lombardini as its next president.

In addition to his AFTRA work in the early 2000s, Hessinger served as director of labor relations for CBS and most recently as chair of the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp.

The post DGA Reelects Negotiating Committee Chairs Jon Avnet and Karen Gaviola for 2026 appeared first on TheWrap.