Italian base employees’ protest has slight effect on Capodichino

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Roughly 100 Italian workers from the U.S. Navy base at Capodichino protested Wednesday morning and blocked vehicular access to the road that leads to the main gate of the base.


Italian base employees’ protest has slight effect on Capodichino
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, December 4, 2008

NAPLES, Italy — Striking Italian base employees blocked cars from entering the main gate at the U.S. Navy Capodichino base Wednesday morning, turning a normally bustling military installation into a virtual ghost town.

The strikers ended the protest by 1 p.m. after union leaders met with the Naples prefectural officials to voice labor complaints. Employees, however, remained off the job for the rest of the work day.

Essential personnel were told to show up for work in the pre-dawn hours to avoid being trapped behind picket lines, officials said. Some commanders told those not necessarily needed to avoid coming to the base.

"We knew of the potential impact, and we had ... essential personnel report prior to the strike," said Capt. Ike Skelton, spokesman for Naval Forces Europe.

Though far fewer personnel were on base than usual, the strike had a minimal effect on base operations because of prior planning, said base spokesman Lt. Paul Macapagal.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59205