WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Owner John Alfano fills a deep-dish pizza at the Wentzville pizzeria with his name on the front door. This Chicago-style pie is going to a customer, but so many of the pizzas in his ovens these days aren't paid orders. They're donations.
"We recognize the hardship in this small community so we do it every day," Alfano said of the pizzas he takes at night to the striking union members guarding the gates at the GM plant. "It's just the right thing to do."
Businesses all over Wentzville have offered free food or discounted services since so much of the local workforce is impacted, or as Alfano said, "there's probably not one person that doesn't know a union worker in this town."
And you don't have to go far to prove his point. Jim and Gena Mager are waiting at the front of Alfano's Pizza for their own order. Their son-in-law's on strike, and Jim works in the auto industry.
"They're very stressed, and of course we try to do our part to help them out," Gena Mager said of her family.
"It affects more than cars just being built," Mr. Mager adds. "Right now, we have customers that we cannot get GM parts for."
5 On Your Side reached out Mayor Nick Guccione to see what kind of impact the strike is having a business in Wentzville. He said the sales tax revenue numbers for September are not in yet so it's hard to calculate what kind of impact this is having on the city.
The sun has set on Day 23 of the General Motors strike with no resolution on the horizon.
It's unclear how long this strike will last, but both sides are still negotiating. When the dust settles in Detroit, the same will happen in Alfano's shop.
Businessowners hope to still see the strikers again, possibly next time as customers.
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