Flight Attendant wins $5.1 million in 1st Amendment Fight

A flight attendant for Southwest airlines alleged she was fired in March 2017 after complaining to the union president about flight attendants going to a march in Washington, D.C., where more than half a million people protested President Donald Trump’s positions on abortion and other issues.

A jury in a federal district court in Dallas, ruled that Southwest unlawfully discriminated against Ms. Carter, a Southwest flight attendant, because of her sincerely held religious beliefs.

The flight attendant protested to the union after she learned that union dues were being used to pay for the pro-abortion protest.

Southwest said Friday that it “has a demonstrated history of supporting our employees’ rights to express their opinions when done in a respectful manner.” It plans to appeal the jury’s decision.

Ms. Carter, who worked for Southwest for 20-years, alleged that the union did not fairly represent her and retaliated against her for expressing her views.

The jury agreed with Carter and granted her a 5.1 million dollar compensatory judgement.