Union rep emails in forced dues case refer to nonunion members as 'dangerous,' should be 'targeted'

In a forced union dues lawsuit in which a former Southwest Airlines flight attendant won a $5.1 million judgment, emails written by a union representative obtained through discovery and acquired by The Center Square appear to show threats against the flight attendant and one mocks her for the political campaigns she unwillingly donated to.

Dallas-based Charlene Carter successfully won her case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on July 14 after first suing the airlines and the Transport Union Workers of America (TWUA) Local 556 in 2017. The jury unanimously sided with her, handing a stinging defeat to the airlines and union in a battle over forced union dues that’s gone on for five years.

Since then, the union and Southwest have said they will appeal and the National Right to Work Foundation will continue to represent her pro bono.
Her attorneys introduced emails obtained in discovery including one from Oct. 13, 2014, obtained by The Center Square. In it, TWU activist Brian Talburt writes to Southwest’s then-senior director in Inflight Services, Sonya Lacore, refering to a non-union member, Mike Casper, as the “the first legit cancerous tumor that had any significant reach with the 1000 members,” saying “he could be contained.”