Former flight attendant, Charlene Carter, won her case against Southwest Airlines after she was terminated due to her pro-life stance, according to CBN News. Carter was fired after posting about her religious opposition to abortion on her social media account. After a five-year legal battle, Carter was awarded $5.1 million in a lawsuit she filed in 2017. Carter shared to Facebook on Thursday, “thank You all for your PRAYERS … I GIVE JESUS all the Glory for this WIN.”
CBN News reports that Carter will be awarded $4.15 million from Southwest Airlines and $950,000 from Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union. Carter became a member of the union in 1996, but resigned in 2013 when she recognized that her religious views were not in line with the union’s on subjects such as abortion, according to the National Right to Work Foundation. Although her membership ended, Carter still was forced to pay fees to the union due to her employment. Upon learning that TWU Local 556 president Audrey Stone and other officials were using union funds to go to the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., which endorsed Planned Parenthood, Carter denounced the action on her social media and alerted Stone about a recall effort against her.
In a statement to FOX Business on Friday, Carter said, “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 protected speech against her union,” adding that, “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.”
Mark Mix, the president of the National Right to Work Foundation, shared that they are proud to stand with Carter, and believe that no worker should be compelled to fund a private organization that “violates their core beliefs.” Mix asserted that no American worker should need to worry about termination for speaking out about how their money is being spent, especially if it is being used for something they strongly disagree with, such as in Carter’s case, the support of abortion advocacy.