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Musk’s aggressive strategy outside the USA too: threats and demands at American bases

The weekly request for work reporting from the United States also reaches bases abroad, involving Italian civilian personnel as well. Between implicit threats and legal perplexity, the affair opens an unprecedented trade union clash

Elon Musk’s demands, already known in the United States for their peremptory tone, have also arrived in Italy, creating not a few tensions. The question that has triggered the issue is direct and simple: ‘What did you do last week?’. This question, drafted in the ironic and irreverent style typical of the ‘Doge’, recalls the need to demonstrate the usefulness of one’s work. However, what is alarming is the context in which this question was formulated: workers at the American military bases in Aviano and Vicenza, including Italian civilians, were confronted with an email that shook their working environment to the core.

The local trade unions were immediately alerted, intervening to ask for explanations, but the problem does not seem to have been resolved at all. Now the matter has passed into the hands of the national unions, which will have to deal with the complexity of the case at a higher level.

Threatening communication and an incompatible work culture

At the root of the problem is a communication that, as is common for those working in American public facilities, contains a veiled threat: ‘Not answering is tantamount to resigning’. A phrase that, read in Italy, appears completely foreign to the work context and national laws. No Italian employer would ever dare formulate such a message, which is completely at odds with the principles of Italian labour law.

This affair takes on even more complex contours when one considers the role that social media, in particular X (formerly Twitter), have played in the dissemination of these policies, which in Italy seem to come closer to propaganda than to concrete reality. The first question an Italian worker asks is: ‘Should I answer?’, followed immediately by: ‘What happens to me if I do not answer or if I answer wrongly?’. Questions that the trade unions immediately asked themselves, aware that, unlike the American public sector, the Italian system of industrial relations is much more structured and protective of workers.

Italian legislation also applies on American bases

A crucial aspect of the issue is that Italian civilian employees working on US military bases are subject to Italian legislation. Logically, the request received should have no relevance, but bureaucracy often manages to subvert both logic and common sense. This case is no exception.

In spite of the favourable legislative framework for Italian workers, the staff of the AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service) in Aviano, which manages the commercial services for the military at the base, was nevertheless obliged to respond. Angelo Zaccaria, union coordinator for UilTucs at the Aviano base, explained to Il Messaggero that, after asking for clarification, it was confirmed that Italian employees must also respond. However, considering the national importance of the issue, UilTucs decided to involve the unions at the central level to address the situation with the US authorities.

A trade union issue of national importance

The affair is therefore destined to become a ‘school case’, where the power of Musk’s corporate policies and his American bureaucratic machine collide with the Italian legal and trade union system. Labour law and collective agreements will have to be put to the test to establish the extent to which this request is legitimate.

In conclusion, a simple e-mail requesting a brief five-point weekly report could turn into a legal battle challenging the rights of Italian workers and the power of American multinationals on Italian soil.

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