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Buona Beef's Union Battle Comes To An End After On-Camera Embarrassment

By Howard Ludwig | August 28, 2017 8:29am
 Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 134 distributed flyers Aug. 17 outside of Buona Beef in Beverly. The restaurant chain has since come to an agreement with union members, many upset by a viral video involving the Buonavolanto family using a hose Aug. 15 near picketers.
Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 134 distributed flyers Aug. 17 outside of Buona Beef in Beverly. The restaurant chain has since come to an agreement with union members, many upset by a viral video involving the Buonavolanto family using a hose Aug. 15 near picketers.
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BEVERLY — Buona Beef and the Chicago Building and Construction Trades Council have ended a two-week labor dispute that escalated when a pair of viral videos surfaced showing union members being sprayed by owners with a hose.

On Friday, the restaurant chain based in suburban Berwyn issued a joint statement with the council saying the two sides "came to an agreement whereby Buona has committed to continue their use of union contractors and workers on future construction projects."

The disagreement between the two sides peaked after the videos shot Aug. 15 were heavily shared on social media. Buona Beef's Joseph J. Buonavolanto and Jim Buonavolanto were shown confronting union picketers who were criticizing their family's business.

"F------ losers, dude," one of the Buonavolantos can be heard saying outside the chain's original location and near of its corporate headquarters.

The Buonavolantos were charged with battery. Jim Buonavolanto, vice president of operations, was charged after spraying the protesters with a garden hose, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Joseph Buonavolanto, the company's facilities manager, allegedly struck the hand of a protester who was filming his uncle as he removed a protest sign, the report also said.

Buona Beef issued an apology on the its website Aug. 17. But the words did not sway members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 134 who stood outside Buona Beef's Beverly location that same day handing out flyers asking customers to, "Show Your Support — Please Do Not Patronize Buona Beef."

Donald Finn, business manager and financial secretary for IBEW, Local 134, was at the restaurant at 10633 S. Western Ave. in Beverly during the picketing and issued his own statement Friday thanking members for their support in the boycott.

"I am extremely pleased to announce that Buona Beef has signed a project labor agreement. I would like to thank all of the Chicago Building Trades organizations for sticking with us and acting in a professional manner during this boycott," Finn said via email.

The dispute seemingly stemmed from Buona Beef's expansion effort, according to union officials. While the Beverly location was built with union labor, restaurants under construction Downtown as well as in south suburban Frankfort, Homewood and Oak Lawn were not, Finn said.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Buona Beef said the Buonavolantos in Berwyn were using the hose to wash away gasoline that had spilled from a generator being used to inflate a giant rat. The spokesman did not explain why sprinklers were turned on during a union protest in Beverly.  

Many residents in the union-heavy 19th Ward swore off Buona Beef as a result. The Southwest Side restaurant opened in March 21, 2016. It was the chain's first Chicago restaurant and kicked off Buona Beef's five-year expansion plan.

But Ralph Affrunti, president of the building and trades council, asked union members to put the conflict behind them. 

“Now that this is settled, we encourage all union members and supporters to recognize Buona as a labor-friendly business that is an asset to Chicagoland," Affrunti said. "We are pleased to be working with this family-owned business to ensure that highly-skilled tradesmen and women have the opportunity to work on these projects.”