Madrid, Nov 8: The longest US government shutdown on record is doing more than grinding activities to a halt at home; an ocean away in Europe, local workers at US military bases have started to feel the pain.
At least 2,000 people working at overseas bases in Europe have had their salaries interrupted since the shutdown began almost six weeks ago. In some cases, governments hosting the US bases have stepped in to foot the bill, expecting the United States to eventually make good. In others, including in Italy and Portugal, workers have simply kept working unpaid as the gridlock in Washington drags on.
“It’s an absurd situation because nobody has responses, nobody feels responsible,” said Angelo Zaccaria, a union coordinator at the Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy.
“This is having dramatic effects on us Italian workers,” he told The Associated Press.
An array of needed jobs
The jobs foreign nationals do at US bases around the world range from food service, construction, logistics, maintenance and other, more specialised roles. In some cases, foreign workers are employed by private companies hired by the US government, while others are direct hires.
How local employees are paid varies by country and is based on specific agreements the US government has with each host nation, said Amber Kelly-Herard, a public affairs spokesperson for the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa.
During the shutdown, Kelly-Herard said local employees were expected to continue to perform their jobs in accordance with their work contracts.
The AP reached out to the Pentagon with multiple questions on the pay disruption, but was only provided a brief statement that did not acknowledge it.
“We value the important contributions of our local national employees around the world,” it said. The official declined to answer any follow-up questions.
American bases are feeling the pinch overseas
In Germany, the government has stepped in to pay the salaries of nearly 11,000 civilian employees who work on US military bases, the nation’s finance ministry said in a statement. American facilities in Germany include the Ramstein Air Base, a critical hub for operations in the Mideast and Africa and headquarters to the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa.
Workers in other countries have not been so fortunate.
More than 4,600 Italian nationals work at the five US bases in Italy, said union coordinator Zaccaria. Of those, over 900 local employees at US bases in Aviano and Vicenza, and another 400 workers at a base in Livorno, have not received their salaries since the shutdown began.
