Earlier today a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in flight attendant Charlene Carter’s case against Southwest Airlines and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 for illegally firing her in retaliation for expressing her religious beliefs. The decision affirms that Southwest and TWU violated federal law for their respective roles in her termination.

Carter is receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in the case, which was originally filed in 2017. More details can be found here.

National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement about the latest victory in Carter’s case:

“This decision is another victory for Charlene Carter. The Court of Appeals has affirmed that both TWU union bosses and Southwest Airlines violated Carter’s legal rights when the union instigated her termination by Southwest in response to voicing her opposition to union political activism, including union activities that violated her religious beliefs.”

“We are proud to help Charlene defend her legal rights. But her case exposes a bigger injustice in American labor law: that workers can be forced to accept union ‘representation’ they oppose and, adding insult to injury, can be forced to pay fees to that union. It is outrageous that, even though the court confirmed that the TWU union and Southwest violated Carter’s legal rights, Carter is still forced to subsidize TWU union bosses or else be fired by Southwest. We hope Carter’s victory today will prompt an overdue conversation about how coercive union boss power infringes on the rights of millions of hardworking Americans.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.