Mr Christodoulou recounts the incident in his book Expressions of a Labour Movement Activist, an overview of his life in trade unions (which started when he was a Coles trolley boy at 15) as well as a collection of some of his poems and songs.
He declines to call it an autobiography because there are no "juicy bits in there".
That said, having a gun pointed at you while on union business seems pretty juicy.
"That was a pretty scary dispute with Wollongong Stewards," Mr Christodoulou remembered.
"It was front page of the Mercury. We'd alleged that they weren't paying their workers correctly; he refused to show us the time and wages books.
"We finally got an order out of the commission that would allow us to do that. The day I went in there, I was asked to go into a little room.
"He was quite aggressive - he basically threw the books on the table so they slid in front of me. Then he pulled out the gun from his holster and slammed it in front of me, with the barrel of the gun pointing at me.
"He said, 'You're sweatin' aren't ya? You're really really sweating now'. At that point I thought, 'It's time for me to leave'."
Surprisingly, he wasn't the first in his family to face an employer with a weapon. It also happened to his mother, Joanna, who was working at David Jones in the 1970s and was one of several workers being underpaid by a contractor.
She took a role as union delegate and then threatened to strike unless the underpayments were fixed.
They were, but the contractor wasn't happy with Joanna. The next day he stabbed a knife into a pumpkin and said "This is what I feel like doing to you."
It was no surprise that his mother's efforts to help the migrant workers at David Jones rubbed off on Mr Christodoulou.
"I got really interested in unions, interested in migrant workers," he said.
"In my school holidays I used to do work experience with the Australian Workers Union so I could find out more about unions.
"I got really really interested. I wanted to get out there and help people who couldn't really help themselves unless they were a part of a broader collective."
Something that might come as a surprise to some is Mr Christodoulou's passion for writing poetry, which started in high school.
His book includes 15 poems written at various stages in his life.
"I don't mind writing poems," he said. "There would be some feeling of determination, of passion, of euphoria that would urge me to write a poem on a particular subject.
"I am renowned for writing people's farewell poems at work, none of which can probably be published."
The launch of Expressions of a Labour Movement Activist was held at The Illawarra Brewery last night. The book is a fund-raiser for the Asbestos Diseases Foundation.
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