John R. Durso
President
LI Federation of Labor
Since 1999, John R. Durso has served as the President of Local 338, RWDSU/UFCW that represents over 16,000 men and women working in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and parts of New Jersey. Local 338’s members include; supermarket and drug store employees, health care workers, pharmacists, delivery workers, maintenance workers, as well as workers within several other industries.
John is the President of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, the fourth largest central labor council in the United States, representing 250,000 union members in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
He also serves as an International Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Vice President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) – a Council within the UFCW, and is a Vice President of the New York City Central Labor Council. In addition, John holds positions on the Town of Hempstead Labor Advisory Board, the Nassau County Living Wage Advisory Board, the Town of Oyster Bay Workforce Investment Boards, and Governor Cuomo’s Long Island Regional Economic Development Council.
John is a lifetime member of the New York branch of the NAACP, a board member of the Long Island Association, Vision Long Island, the EAC Network, Nassau Community College Foundation, and the Chair-Elect of the United Way of Long Island. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the ENERGEIA Partnership, the Long Island Community Development Corporation, Molloy College Business School, the Rauch Foundation, Hofstra University’s labor advisory board, and John Thiessen Children’s Foundation. Additionally, John is a recipient of Networking Magazine’s “David Award” and is a member of the LIBN/Hofstra University Long Island Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the prestigious “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, an international organization that celebrates the diversity, achievements and progress of all ethnic backgrounds and promotes tolerance and cultural awareness.
A great admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt, John believes that his greatest accomplishments are his four grown children; John Jr., Michael, Jessica, and Jim. He is also a proud grandfather of seven. John is married to Peggy, who was herself, a 27-year member of Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW.