Southwest Airlines Pays Stewardess $1 Million After Firing Her for Being Pro-Life

Southwest Airlines has paid nearly $1 million to a longtime flight attendant it fired for expressing her pro-life religious beliefs.

The payment caps a nine-year legal battle in which a federal jury found the carrier violated her rights to religious liberty and free speech.

Charlene Carter, who worked 21 years as a flight attendant, was terminated in 2017 after she sent graphic anti-abortion messages to leaders of the Transport Workers Union Local 556. The messages protested the union’s support for the 2017 Women’s March, a radical pro-abortion event which was linked to Planned Parenthood.

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Carter had resigned from the union in 2013 over religious differences but was still required to pay agency fees.

She sued both Southwest Airlines and the union, arguing the firing retaliated against her pro-life convictions. A federal jury in 2022 agreed, ruling that the airline and union violated her rights under federal law.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision.

U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr ordered Southwest to reinstate Carter and pay her more than $810,000 in damages, including about $150,000 in back pay. The judge also required the airline to notify employees of their rights against religious discrimination.

In 2023, Starr held Southwest in contempt, saying the carrier “flaunted the court’s original order by twisting words” in its employee notice.

Today, Southwest satisfied the judgment by paying Carter $946,102.87, according to a court filing.

Carter welcomed the resolution as a victory for religious liberty.

“Today is a victory for freedom of speech and religious beliefs,” she said. “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.”

Southwest had defended the firing, saying Carter’s messages amounted to harassment. The airline told employees it “does not discriminate” and directed them to follow the same policy used in her case. The contempt finding also led to orders for three Southwest lawyers to complete religious-liberty training.

The case is not entirely resolved.

Contempt proceedings continue over the adequacy of Southwest’s court-ordered notice to its flight attendants.

Carter’s attorneys maintained throughout the litigation that her pro-life views are protected religious expression and that no employee should face retaliation for opposing the use of union dues for causes they find morally objectionable. The jury’s verdict and the airline’s payment affirm that position.