John Durso

President, Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW & Long Island Federation of Labor

Representing well over a quarter of a million union members affiliated with the Long Island Federation of Labor, John Dorso is the individual who speaks for labor on Long Island. A lawyer who’s known him over 20 years calls Durso “a strong voice for morality and fairness for all workers, not just union workers.” Since 1999, Durso has headed the retail wholesale and department store employees’ local of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ union, and also served as vice president of the New York City Central Labor Council. In addition, he holds positions on Hempstead’s and Oyster Bay’s labor commissions, and the Town of Hempstead’s Workforce Investment Board. He sits on the boards of the Long Island Association, Vision Long Island, and the Rauch Foundation. He serves on Gov. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Council as well as on the advisory boards of the Energeia Partnership and John Thiessen’s Children’s Foundation. A recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, he is a lifetime member of the New York branch of the NAACP. Durso’s negotiating partners cite his sense of fairness, willingness to share credit, and tireless work ethic. Durso, says Victor Fusco, a lawyer, “has the unique ability to sit at the table with corporate heads and high ranking public officials one hour and picket on behalf of fired workers or car-washers the next.” A great admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt, Durso cites his four children with wife Peggy as his greatest accomplishments.