Court Denies Union’s Attempt to Toss Flight Attendant’s Wrongful Discharge Claim, Exposing Union Bias

Schaerr | Jaffe partner Edward H. Trent and attorney Justin Miller have secured a win for a former flight attendant wrongfully terminated for personal posts he made on his social media accounts.

On June 30, 2025, the United States District Court for the Central District of California tossed a motion by the Association of Flight Attendants-Communication Workers of America to dismiss claims the union violated its federal duty of fair representation and discriminated against Ruben Sanchez on the basis of his religious beliefs and his age.

Sanchez, a former 28-year veteran flight attendant and member of the AFA-CWA, was terminated by United Airlines for posts he made on his personal social media account.

The firing came after someone made a meritless anonymous complaint about a conversation he allegedly had with another flight attendant during a flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland in 2023.  During the investigation of the complaint, Sanchez was asked and he explained his religious views on marriage and sexuality.  Sanchez, a gay man, holds to the teachings of the Catholic Church on these issues.  While United determined the complaint was baseless, it still decided to terminate Sanchez due to posts on his X account in violation of California law and the collective bargaining agreement. 

The AFA, Sanchez’s exclusive bargaining representative, did little to defend him in the early stages of the grievance process and then chose to not pursue arbitration for arbitrary and discriminatory reasons, and in bad faith.  Further, AFA’s actions, consistent with the union’s past practices, were done out of discriminatory animus against Sanchez due to his religious beliefs and his age.

The union claimed that Sanchez’s state law discrimination claims were preempted by the federal duty of fair representation, an argument belied by prior Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit case law.  Further, the union claimed that even if not preempted, Sanchez failed to state a claim for discrimination or for breach of the union’s duty of fair representation. 

The court rightfully disagreed and denied the union’s motion in its entirety.  Sanchez now has the opportunity to move forward with his claims and seek justice for his wrongful termination all due to United and AFA not agreeing with his political sentiments expressed on X.

Sanchez’s lawsuit is being supported by X Corp.