Teamsters Local 399 has a new in-house legal counsel.
The North Hollywood-based union has hired former Netflix senior counsel Kay Kimmel as its new in-house counsel and as a dedicated counsel for the Teamsters’ motion picture and theatrical trade division, secretary-treasurer Lindsay Dougherty announced at a membership meeting on Sunday.
“It’s almost unheard of to see lawyers move from management side to the side of working people,” Dougherty said in a statement. “We feel very fortunate to have Kay joining our team. She has always been a fair and respected lawyer, even while working for the employers. Her decades of experience in our industry, and thorough understanding of our Local 399 contracts, positions her to be a great asset to our members and the division.”
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Kimmel spent over five years at Netflix and, before that, was vp labor relations at Paramount and Entertainment Partners. Kimmel began her work at Local 399 on May 2 after departing the streamer in April.
In her new role, Kimmel will help the Teamsters Local 399 negotiations team and assist on contract enforcement. Local 399 will likely be back in contract negotiations on its “Black Book” agreement, which expires on July 31, 2024, some time next year.
Teamsters Local 399 represents over 6,000 entertainment workers in California and New Mexico, including drivers, location managers, casting directors, animal trainers/handlers and wranglers. The union’s principal officer, Dougherty, has been a vocal supporter of the WGA and inter-union solidarity in the entertainment industry during its ongoing writers’ strike, saying at a union meeting at the Shrine last Wednesday, “The only way we’re gonna beat these motherfuckers is if we do it together.”
