In 1993, after a lengthy labor dispute in which the President and CEO of the company, Robert Obadia, locked out its Flight Attendants, Pursers, and In-Flight Service Managers, the company declared bankruptcy. Debts were estimated at over 80 million Canadian dollars. Passengers were stranded in airports all over the world as creditors seized aircraft and the company defaulted on its insurance.

Why did the Flight Attendants want to unionize in the first place?

When I started in 1987, we had no rules regarding work hours that Flight Attendants at other carriers all over the world enjoy. We used to fly to England from Canada, and then sometimes the company would require us to work back to Canada. This would entail 18 hours of duty-time, in addition to the strains of the time zone changes.

Basically, anything went.

No proper seniority.
The schedule you got usually depended on "who you knew". Thus, no guarantee of any particular day off. Regardless of how far in advance you request it off. I seem to recall a Flight Attendant working the flight to her honeymoon destination.

No sick leave policy.
If you called in sick, you were subject to a "medical review". Flight Attendants seem to come down with colds (and flying with a cold can end your career with a blown ear drum), strep throat, and other maladies because they are exposed to such a large number of people in recycled air while at work. So calling in sick with a cold, because you don't want to blow an ear drum, usually got you suspended without pay, or up for some other sort of disciplinary action.

No pension plan.

Low pay
$900 Canadian dollars per month (gross) for a full time job. You were required to be available whenever the company needed you. No assigned days off, that were guaranteed. Basically, you were on call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I was once told that we were the lowest paid Flight Attendants in North America.

No guaranteed rest periods between flights
You'd work 14+ hours one day, get home late at night and then be expected back at the airport several hours later - it became a safety issue - I know several flight attendants that fell asleep at the wheel while driving home.

No protection from unfair dismissals.
Several flight attendants were targeted by managerial individuals to be fired because of their perceived sexual orientation or disciplined for "trumped up" reasons. (i.e. An In-Flight supervisor on board (Robert G.) unlocking a previously locked lavatory before takeoff (in YYZ), and then accusing you of not doing your duty by locking the lavatory - this could lead to a suspension without pay. Or the same supervisor disassembling your seatbelt after you'd checked it, and then watching you try to re-assemble it seconds before takeoff... and then "write you up" for it) IFD's making false accusations in flight reports that you may never have learned about if you hadn't seen your file years later after you'd been unionized.

Interestingly, when Odyssey International Flight Attendants joined the Nationair "group" after Odyssey went bankrupt, alot of them wanted no part of the union. Although there were problems at that carrier, they enjoyed, for the most part, a very good relationship with management. Quite a few quickly became some of the most pro-union individuals at Nationair.

Even more interestingly, we still managed to smile and were constantly being told that "this was the best flight I've ever had....even better than Wardair, except for the condition of the airplane."

Nationairs' history of poor (adversarial) labor relations is now quite well known. I think it started with them going to court and claiming that the people working on board its' aircraft, in Nationair uniforms, were NOT Nationair employees. It is referred to in several decisions handed down in labor-related arbitrations and other decisions. There have been numerous articles written about it. This is from Alternatives Information.

Nationairs' demise was in keeping with most of it's 9 year 3-ring circus-like history. Read some quotes here.

• The travelling public/newspapers constantly joked about it.
• The President threatening to sue any newspaper honest enough to print negative stories about the company.
• No coffee-no tea...gotta garbage bag to seal the door? A garbage bag was used to "seal a door" on a flight to Mexico and back. Made the Toronto Sun, complete with photo.
  • Parts falling off of aircraft in mid-flight (landing gear door Aug. 28, 1989)
  • Flying an airplane back to Canada to get it fixed rather than do it at destination because it would cost more there.
  • the problems with wheel rims and tires on the DC-8's, such as coming off during taxi and moving faster than the airplane was. (DC-8-62 in Toronto)
    Transport Canada ordered them all to be checked, but issued no time frame for the checks to be completed.
• Many who were subjected to the ever popular 24 hour delays often went to the press (see above)
  
• The drive by the Flight Attendants to win union representation (Nationair went to court and denied that we were it's employees).
• The illegal firings and subsequent re-hiring of flight attendants who joined the union.
• The hiring of scabs to replace the flight attendants in the late '80's as a strike deadline for a first collective agreement loomed.
  • Even those hired as scabs joined the union before labor action took place!
  • The President re-negging on a promise to sign a contract after legal pressure tactics made him look bad.
  • A first collective agreement was signed after enough scabs told him "no thanks" to working during a strike or lockout.
  • During the lockout in 1991-1993, the arrest of a scab wanted on an INTERPOL warrant for heroin smuggling. Another scab was charged after pulling out a shotgun on locked out Flight Attendants in Mirabel Airport. NX's Chief of Security was charged with assault after punching a Flight Attendant.
  • Encouraging the formation of a new scab union by the Brotherhood of Teamsters, saying that they would negotiate only with the Teamsters and not the legal bargaining agent for the Flight Attendants - the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
    
    
• A 1986 Audit by Transport Canada that led to charges in seven cases where more passengers were carried than legally permitted (between 235 and 286 passengers in an aircraft with 229 seats)
  
  
• The firing of 10 Flight Attendants who refused to work longer than 18 hours because they felt it was unsafe (as per the Labor Code in Canada)

  Gatwick (August 1990)

  
  
• The fire and evacuation in Gatwick, England. August 1990
• The taking over of and subsequent merging of bankrupt Odyssey International with Nationair, and then taking away the nicely tailored Odyssey uniforms and new employees being given used Nationair uniforms.
• The emergency landing of an aircraft with new Nationair (ex-Odyssey) employees on board. They were going to a meeting to welcome them to the company in Montreal. (Welcome aboard indeed)
  
  
• The crash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 1991.
  • All aboard where killed (including 14 Canadian crew and friends ).
  • The Montreal Gazette did an investigative report on the crash.
  • The linking of the company to illegal arms shipping in the Middle East.
  • The Safety Review done after the crash by the Canadian Government that they denied existing....
  • The Government and Transport Canada in particular, being exposed for trying to cover up the Safety Review, by Mr. Ken Rubin, using the "Freedom of Information Act"
    
    
• In negotiations in 1991, the company "offered", in all seriousness, an increase in salary of 25 cents - per month. Thus, instead of an average of $900, it would be $900.25.
• The resignation of 3 Vice-Presidents claiming that the President was out of control.
• The grounding of aircraft and stranding of passengers as the company failed to pay it's insurance and unable to pay cash for fuel.
  
• The President trying to pit Francophone employees against Anglophones by ranting that "anglophone forces" (of which I suppose I was one) were out to destroy Nationair via a "schmear campaign". (None of us had to do any schmearing, as they did a really good job of that themselves!)
• The suspension of Nationair from IATA over unpaid bills.
  
• And then there are the fraud charges against President Robert Obadia and his family....
  
  

UPDATES! In 1998, the news media The Globe and Mail reported that Mr. Ken Rubin was successful in his efforts to get the Canadian Government to release the information they had been hiding about Nationair. In it, it was proven that Nationair had flown aircraft that were not airworthy on several occasions. Thus the Canadian Government KNEW about the problems that Nationair had, and still allowed them to fly. Had they been doing their jobs, perhaps the crash in Saudi Arabia could have been avoided because more stringent procedures would have been in place. That aircraft should never have powered up on July 11, 1991.

* a comment regarding Nationair by a passenger