Posts tagged TWU Local 556
Court of Appeals Hearing Arguments in Case Brought by Southwest Flight Attendant Who Was Illegally Fired for Criticizing Union Officials
June 5, 2024 // Carter resigned from union membership in 2013 but was still forced to pay fees to TWU Local 556 as a condition of her employment. The Railway Labor Act (RLA), the federal law that governs labor relations in the air and rail industries, permits the firing of employees for refusal to pay dues and preempts the protections that state Right to Work laws provide. However, the RLA does protect employees’ rights to refrain from union membership, to speak out against the union and its leadership, and to advocate for changing the union’s current leadership. In January 2017, Carter, a pro-life Christian, learned that then-TWU Local 556 President Audrey Stone and other Local 556 officials used union dues to attend a political rally in Washington, D.C., which was sponsored by activist groups she deeply opposed, including Planned Parenthood.
Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants Authorize Strike
January 24, 2024 // Following the authorization, if Southwest and the union don’t reach a deal in federal mediation, the union would be free to call a strike. The vote comes after Southwest Airlines pilots approved a new contract on Monday. Southwest is still negotiating with two union-represented work groups over collective-bargaining agreements.
Southwest Airlines strikes new deals with flight attendants, mechanics unions
June 6, 2023 // The Dallas-based airline announced this weekend that it has reached agreements in principle with unions representing its flight attendants and its mechanics. They are the seventh and eighth agreements Southwest has reached with its union partners since October 2022.
Flight Attendant Asks for Contempt Ruling Against Southwest for Violating Court Order Regarding Illegal Firing at Union’s Behest
January 9, 2023 // District Court ordered Southwest to announce that airline may not discriminate on basis of religion; airline instead effectively denied wrongdoing despite jury verdict With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter is seeking sanctions against Southwest for flouting the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’ decision in her case. Carter sued both Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 and Southwest in 2017 for firing her over opposing the union’s political stances – a violation of both the Railway Labor Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Worker protests at airports spread nationwide over staffing and pay
September 27, 2022 // Cashiers, baristas, bartenders, cooks and lounge attendants at San Francisco International Airport launched an open-ended strike Monday over staffing levels and wages, shutting down most of one of the nation’s busiest airport’s food concessions. Flight attendants at United and Southwest airlines on Tuesday are expected to demonstrate at 21 airports around the United States, including Guam, as well as in London, to draw attention to workplace problems made worse by understaffing.
Flight Attendant Triumphs Over TWU Union and Southwest in Suit About Illegal Firing; Jury Awards $5.1 Million in Damages
July 18, 2022 // Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter has just prevailed in her federal lawsuit in which she charged the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 union and Southwest for illegally firing her for her religious opposition to abortion. She received free legal representation from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys. US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Audrey Stone, the union president,
Federal Judge Rejects Attempt by TWU Union and Southwest to Thwart Flight Attendant’s Religious Discrimination Suit
May 11, 2022 // Carter resigned from union membership but was still forced to pay fees to TWU Local 556 as a condition of her employment. State Right to Work laws do not protect her from forced union fees because airline and railway employees are covered by the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA allows union officials to have a worker fired for refusing to pay union dues or fees. But it does protect the rights of employees to remain nonmembers of the union, to criticize the union and its leadership, and advocate for changing the union’s current leadership.