Who is Charlene Carter? Flight attendant awarded $5.1M after airlines fired her for pro-life stance
A 20-year veteran flight attendant of Southwest Airlines was awarded $5.1 million on Thursday, July 14, after a jury found that she was fired for her religious, pro-life beliefs.
Charlene Carter spoke out against the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 union after the group, including its president Audrey Stone, reportedly attended the Women's March in Washington, DC in 2017. Carter expressed her pro-life stance online and criticized the event, which receives funding from Planned Parenthood, the largest pro-abortion non-profit in the country.
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Who is Charlene Carter?
Charlene Carter worked as a Southwest Airlines flight attendant for over two decades from 1996 to 2017. She was fired by the airline in March 2017, with the company claiming she had violated its policies on bullying and the use of social media.
Carter reportedly sent a number of Facebook messages to Stone, with some containing videos of purported aborted fetuses. She called the then-union president "despicable" and told her she would be voted out of office. "This is what you supported during your paid leave with others at the Women’s March in DC," Carter wrote to Stone, as quoted by the Dallas Morning News. "You truly are despicable in so many ways."
Court documents indicated the airline fired Carter because of her social media activity, which they deemed "highly offensive," and her private messages to Stone that were "harassing" in nature.
“Today is a victory for freedom of speech and religious beliefs. Flight attendants should have a voice and nobody should be able to retaliate against a flight attendant for engaging in a protected speech against her union,” Carter told Fox Business on Friday, July 15.
“I am so humbled and thankful for today’s decision and for everyone who’s supported me these past five years, including the National Right to Work Foundation.” She also celebrated her victory on social media. "Thank You all for your PRAYERS … I GIVE JESUS all the Glory for this WIN 🏆," she wrote to her followers.
Mark Mix, the president of the National Right to Work Foundation, excoriated the union following the verdict. “No American worker should have to fear termination, intimidation, or any other reprisal merely for speaking out against having their own money spent, purportedly in their name, to promote an agenda they find abhorrent,” Mix, who served pro-bono legal representation to Carter, said in a statement.
“TWU union officials still enjoy the enormous government-granted privilege of being able to force airline workers to financially subsidize their activities as a condition of employment,” he continued. “While we’re proud to stand with Ms Carter and are pleased by the verdict, there ultimately should be no place in American labor law for compelling workers to fund a private organization that violates their core beliefs,” Mix added.
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The verdict came on Thursday after an eight-day trial before Dallas Judge Brantley Starr. On May 5, Starr ruled that Carter deserved a trial due to religious bias claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, retaliation claims under the Railway Labor Act, and claims of breach of the duty of fair representation, according to the Daily Wire.
That said, Southwest is planning to appeal the verdict. In a statement on Friday, July 15, the airline said that it “has a demonstrated history of supporting our employees’ rights to express their opinions when done in a respectful manner.” According to the Washington Post, Carter could "collect $4.15 million from Southwest and $950,000 from the union, mostly in punitive damages, if the verdict stands."