Katie Kerekes, FISM News
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A federal court has ordered Southwest Airlines to reinstate a flight attendant who was terminated after she opposed the use of union dues to fund “political activities” contrary to her religious convictions.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation issued a statement Wednesday detailing the victory in a second lawsuit filed on behalf of former Southwest flight attendant Charlene Carter against the airline and the Transport Workers Union (TWU).
The Foundation, which describes itself as a non-profit, charitable organization whose mission is to “defend American workers from compulsory union abuses,” has provided Carter with free legal aid following her termination by the airline in March 2017.
“The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas this week ordered Southwest and the union to give Carter the maximum amount of compensatory and punitive damages permitted under federal law, plus back-pay, and other forms of relief that a jury originally awarded following Carter’s victory in a July trial,” the statement reads.
The conflict began when Carter learned that funds collected through union dues were used by the union president, Audrey Stone, and other union members to attend the Washington D.C. Women’s March, which is sponsored by Planned Parenthood.
After resigning from the union, Carter was vocal in criticism of Stone and other union officials on social media platforms. NRWA contended that her rights to be critical of the union were protected by the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA stipulates that non-union members must pay union dues, but are permitted to criticize the union and its leadership.
As tensions brewed, Carter says she was fired following a meeting with Southwest where she was informed that Stone claimed she was “harassed” by Carter’s comments.
The judge in the case did not agree.
“Bags fly free with Southwest,” begins the decision, as originally quoted by the National Right to Work Foundation. “But free speech didn’t fly at all with Southwest in this case.”
"Bags fly free with Southwest. But free speech didn’t fly at all with Southwest in this case."
-The opening line of Judge Starr's ruling against @SouthwestAir & @transportworker for illegally discriminated against a flight attendant Charlene Carter for opposing union politics https://t.co/GpstV3qOAj
— National Right To Work Foundation (@RightToWork) December 6, 2022
In 2017, Carter filed a federal lawsuit with the assistance of the Foundation. The decision which came earlier this week was touted by NWRF as a “win for free speech in the workplace,” after the jury ruled that Carter had been “unlawfully terminated” because of her religious beliefs after a years-long legal battle.
“This week’s decision, in addition to awarding reinstatement, back-pay, prejudgment interest, and damages to Carter, also hits the TWU union and Southwest with injunctions forbidding them from discriminating against flight attendants for their religious beliefs and from failing to accommodate religious objectors,” NRWF Legal Foundation said, celebrating the win.