Gioia’s Deli – famous for its hot salami sandwiches and widely patronized by IBEW Local 1 and other St. Louis-area unions and their members – has been placed on the St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council’s “We Do Not Patronize” list.
The Gioia’s at 1934 Macklind Ave. on The Hill has been a “go-to” for Local 1 for years, providing catering for the local’s events at its union hall, which is located just down the street. Local 1 officers and members enjoyed a great relationship with the deli’s owner, Alex Donley, who would often personally deliver the food to the hall.
That was before Local 1 discovered that Gioia’s newest location, a commissary kitchen with a walk-up window for pick-up orders at 11855 Adie Road in Maryland Heights, had used Southwestern Electric, a non-union contractor that pays below area standard wages and benefits negotiated by the union, for electrical work.
SIGNIFICANT DISAPPOINTMENT
“We announced it during a recent Building Trades Council meeting, and there was a collective sigh from all the union members there,” said Local 1 Business Representative John Kahrhoff. “It’s a significant disappointment given the fact that we’ve been supporting the company for years.”
In addition to the Gioia’s Hill and Maryland Heights locations, the company also has a deli at 623 N. New Ballas Road in Creve Coeur. All three locations are now on the Do Not Patronize list.
SECOND LOCATION
Gioia’s opened its second location in Creve Coeur in 2018. At the time, Local 1 Business Representative Steve Muehling noticed the new location and stopped in to visit Donley. Muehling said Donley told him the building was ready to go when they moved into it and no electrical work had been done.
“I noticed they had a new electrical sign-up, but I took his word for it,” Muehling said. “We discussed the deli using IBEW Local 1 contractors for all future electrical work.”
Last fall, Muehling was on his way to a meeting in Maryland Heights and noticed the third new Gioia’s at 11855 Adie Road. He said he stopped in and it looked like work had just been completed on the building.
“I asked to speak to Alex and the woman at the front desk said he wasn’t there,” Muehling said. “I asked her if she knew who had done the electrical work, but she didn’t.”
NO RESPONSE
Muehling pulled the electrical permit on the building and found out Gioia’s used non-union Southwest Electric for the work. He tried visiting and calling the deli numerous times to talk to Donley to no avail.
Muehling said he then was told to send the company’s new director of operations an email voicing his concerns.
Muehling sent the company a proposed letter of intent committing to use Local 1 contractors for any future electrical work. Muehling said he never received a response, and he sent a letter to the St. Louis Building Trades Council Dec. 13 asking for all three Gioia’s locations to be placed on the “We Do Not Patronize” list.
‘I THOUGHT WE HAD A RELATIONSHIP’
“What troubles me the most is the company’s lack of response,” Muehling said. “I thought we had a relationship with Alex Donley, but he never returned any of my calls.”
IBEW Local 1 is urging fellow union members to call Gioia’s and tell the deli to stop using non-union electricians. The phone number to the Gioia’s St. Louis location is 314-776-9410.
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