Antonio Mosca, a cashier at the commissary in Naples, Italy, straightens a sign that reads “foreigners in our own house” during a strike Friday outside of the Capodichino base at Naval Support Activity Naples. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
Antonio Mosca, a cashier at the commissary in Naples, Italy, straightens a sign that reads “foreigners in our own house” during a strike Friday outside of the Capodichino base at Naval Support Activity Naples. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
About 350 Italian employees of U.S. bases in the Naples area marched outside of the Capodichino base at Naval Support Activity Naples. The strike lasted from about 7 a.m. to about noon. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
Hundreds of Italian employees went on strike Friday at U.S. bases in Italy, marching to bring attention to growing complaints such as inadequate pay and pensions and upcoming layoffs.
About 400 workers gathered outside of Capodichino and Agnano in Naples. Farther north, about 100 local national employees gathered outside the main gate at Aviano Air Base. There were no demonstrations reported at Vicenza.
Tensions reached a fever pitch at times, especially in Naples after a protester outside of the Capodichino base at Naval Support Activity was struck by a car as an American motorist left the base.
The man was taken by ambulance to the San Giovanni Bosco Hospital in Naples and released with a minor injury to his left knee, base officials said.
Navy police released the sailor, who was not named, after questioning him about the incident. Italian police impounded the sailor’s black BMW, because the insurance had expired in August 2003. The incident remains under investigation by Italian and U.S. police, base officials said.
“That was a very unfortunate incident that we hope was an accident and that we hope will not happen again,” said Biagio Montefusco, a union leader who represents Italian employees who work at bases in the Naples region and south in Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Sicily.
Friday’s strike is the first of three nationwide strikes. The next two are planned from about 7 a.m. to noon next Friday and Feb. 4, as Italian nationals who work at U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy bases throughout the Mediterranean peninsula protest the labor agreement being negotiated between U.S. and Italian labor union officials.
About 4,400 local nationals work on U.S. military facilities in Italy, and are represented by one of two unions. Combined, the two represent about 6 million Italian workers.
Gianni Iandolo, the Aviano area representative for the UILTuCS union, said employees have been without a contract for more than a year, and he complained the American side refuses to negotiate.
“Therefore, the only thing we have left to do is strike,” said Dolores Bongiorno, who has worked at the base for 31 years.
The Italian workers say they are seeking improvements to pension plans and they want a pay scale that mirrors their American counterparts’ general schedule pay scale, which also rewards good work.
“We are not protesting against the American people,” said Renato Leban, another longtime base employee. “We are not protesting against their presence here.”
Just the opposite, said Naples-based employees.
“I am very proud to work for the Navy for almost 30 years, and that attitude will stay until my last day here and will not change just because I was told the bad news,” said Tony Speranza, 58, who was told days before Christmas he would be laid off by September. “I felt that my world was collapsing on me, after 30 years of loyal and honest service to the Navy and the Department of Defense, I did not expect that news.”
Montefusco said about 80 employees will be laid off by February, and another 40 or so by the end of the fiscal year.
Navy officials have identified 123 positions held by local nationals as “excess” and plan to eliminate them this fiscal year.
“However, a number of those positions were already vacant, either through normal attrition, retirement or people who didn’t want to work for the Navy anymore,” said Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Braun, spokeswoman for Command-Navy Region Europe. She did not know how many of the 123 already were vacant.
“We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact and every attempt is being made to place employees in other positions,” Braun said.
Montefusco said that some of those jobs are either being eliminated, or converted to jobs to be filled by U.S. personnel, either dependents of servicemembers or federal civilians. The status of forces agreement between the Italian and American governments says that noncritical jobs, in this case those not requiring security clearances and the like, must first be filled by qualified local nationals, Montefusco said.
With unemployment already at near-record highs, surpassing 35 percent in southern Italy, those laid off will have a hard time finding jobs, Montefusco said.
Pensions are a big issue for workers across Italy because the population per capita is among the oldest in Europe, and they fear the country’s social system won’t be able to support an increasingly elderly population.
Traffic was heavy and delayed both at Aviano and Naples because of the strike. When it ended, workers said they planned to report back to their jobs and said there wouldn’t be any sort of slowdown in the afternoon.
Some American motorists in Aviano clearly were agitated as they waited to drive onto the base. Tensions ran high on both sides when motorists gunned engines, refused to take leaflets from strikers, or started debating.
“We urge American employees, military members and their families to treat the protesters politely and respectfully during this and future demonstrations,” according to a 31st Fighter Wing statement issued Friday afternoon from Aviano.
“These are the same people we work with on a daily basis and are an important part in successfully accomplishing our mission. Being disrespectful to the protesters or provoking them will only cause unnecessary delays upon entering the base.”
