Amid the ongoing government shutdown, thousands of people staffing U.S. military bases overseas are missing their pay.
Angelo Zaccaria, a union coordinator at the Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy, told the Associated Press, “This is having a dramatic effect on us Italian workers.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
The federal government has been shut down since October 1, and Republicans and Democrats have been in a stalemate, trading blame back-and-forth over who is responsible for the shutdown and seeking to garner support for resolutions to reopen the government. The GOP holds a majority in the House and Senate but requires Democratic support to reach a deal.
Lawmakers are feeling increased urgency to reopen the government, as the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, has disrupted millions of lives, with government workers remaining unpaid, many furloughed, and food aid payments delayed for 42 million Americans.
Military pay has been a central issue, with about 1.3 million active-duty service members facing the possibility of missing a paycheck. The Trump administration has pledged to keep U.S. military personnel funded during the ongoing shutdown, including shifting funds at least twice to cover payroll.
What To Know
As the U.S. government shutdown stretches past a month, in addition to Americans, thousands of workers overseas are feeling the strain. The U.S. operates at least 128 military bases overseas in 50 countries, according to a 2024 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
Many of those bases employ local workers in roles ranging from food service and construction to logistics and maintenance. During the shutdown, those employees, like many U.S. government employees, are expected to continue their jobs, while their pay may be paused.
Amber Kelly-Herard, a public affairs spokesperson for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, told the AP that local employee’s contracts and payment structures vary by country and the specific host nations’ agreements with the U.S.
Some host countries have filled in the payments, with the hope that U.S. will reimburse them later. The German government, for example, has paid the salaries of nearly 11,000 civilian employees working on U.S. bases, according to its finance ministry.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that about 2,000 Italian employees at one of the country’s five U.S. military bases were not paid in October. The AP reported that more than 360 workers at a Portuguese base have also not been paid.
What People Are Saying
Angelo Zaccaria, a union coordinator at the Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy, told the AP: “It’s an absurd situation because nobody has responses, nobody feels responsible…There are workers struggling to pay their mortgages, to support their children or even to pay the fuel to come to work.”
A spokesperson for the Pentagon told the AP when asked about the pay disruptions: “We value the important contributions of our local national employees around the world.”
A spokesperson for the German finance ministry said in late October: “The federal government will initiate an unscheduled expenditure to ensure that October salaries are paid on time.”
President Donald Trump wrote in an October 11 Truth Social post: “That is why I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS. I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.”
What Happens Next?
Repeated votes to end the government shutdown have failed to produce a compromise as it continues to stretch on.
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