A flight attendant who was fired in 2017 for expressing pro-life views has been paid nearly $1 million in damages—ending litigation that has persisted for almost a decade, according to an April 28 statement from her lawyers.
“This case has been a long, hard fight, but I’ll never stop sticking up for what I know is right,” Charlene Carter said in the statement from the National Right to Work Foundation, which has provided free legal representation for her since the case began.
The Epoch Times has followed Carter’s saga since at least 2022. That year, Dallas jurors found that Southwest Airlines violated Carter’s right to criticize her union and express her Christian religious views. In 2023, under a court order, the airline rehired Carter.
Carter had vehemently criticized Transport Workers Union of America Local 556 for its support of an alleged pro-abortion event. A jury found that the union failed to represent Carter’s interests after evidence showed that a union leader worked with company officials to get her fired.
Because of legal limits on the amount of damages that could be awarded in such a case, a judge was required to reduce the original $5 million that jurors approved for Carter.
A Satisfaction of Judgment, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas/Dallas Division, shows that Carter was paid damages totaling roughly $946,000 from the airline and union.
That amount includes back pay, punitive damages, compensatory damages, and interest.
“Being a flight attendant is my livelihood and my passion, and union officials tried to manipulate company policy to upend my career simply because I spoke out about my most sincerely held beliefs,” Carter said in the statement.
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix called Carter “courageous” for standing up to protect her religious and personal beliefs.
“While she is finally receiving compensation for her struggle, no one should forget that federal law still forces workers to accept union ‘representation’ they oppose and, adding insult to injury, forces workers to pay unwanted unions,” Mix said in the statement.
He noted that, to this day, Carter is still required to pay fees to the union to keep her job.
“We hope Carter’s case will prompt a long-overdue conversation about how coercive union boss power infringes on the rights of millions of hard-working Americans,” Mix said.
The Epoch Times sought comment from attorneys representing the airline and the union, but received no reply prior to publication time.
A possible contempt sanction against Southwest is the sole remaining issue, Carter’s lawyers said.
