24 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2020
CORNER OFFICE
LONG ISLAND FEDERATION OF LABOR PRESIDENT JOHN DURSO
STICKING WITH THE UNION
BY JAMES BERNSTEIN
John Durso got into the labor movement
when he joined Waldbaum’s
supermarket as a deli clerk in 1970.
He is now president of Local 338,
which represents 16,000 employees
at supermarkets, drug stores, group
homes, and other locations. He is
“We need to change the law to make it easier,
not harder, to join a union.”
also president of the Long Island
Federation of Labor, which has
250,000 members. Durso is a presence
just about anywhere on Long
Island. He is a member of the Long
Island Association, the Long Island
Regional Economic Development
Council, the Rauch Foundation and
the United Way of Long Island.
What challenges does labor face in
2020? One of the most significant is
the anti-worker rulings that have
come down from the National Labor
Relations Board. These will have a
detrimental effect upon all unions
in their ability to organize new
workers. Another is the direction
in which our country is headed. We
need to stop the attack on workers
and the environment.
How do you plan to deal with these
challenges? Just like we did with the
Janus decision and the New York
State Constitutional Convention.
Janus was meant to hurt us. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that public
sector employees had the right not
to pay union dues. But in New York,
we educated those employees and
told them about the value of a strong
union contract.
What role will labor on Long Island
play in the 2020 elections? We
expect Long Island and the Long
Island labor movement to play a
major role in this coming election
cycle. We are lucky to have two
great partners in Senators Chuck
Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
and Tom Suozzi has stepped up in
Congress, but with Congressional
District 2 an open seat and Congressional
District 1 in which
we have nothing more
than a Trump echo,
we need to take those
two seats and
turn them into
pro-worker
seats.
What should the new president do
for labor in 2021? America’s workers
need to know that their pensions
are secure, and that Corporate
America is not going to be allowed
to destroy defined benefit plans.
We need a Labor Department and
an NLRB that is labor friendly, not
one that is looking to harm the labor
movement. We need to strengthen
the Affordable Care Act.
Why did you support legislation
legalizing marijuana in New York
State? As the labor union currently
representing hundreds
of workers in the
New York medical
cannabis
i n d u s t r y,
i n c lud i n g
he r e on
Long Island,
we have a
unique perspective
of why legalization of adult-use
cannabis makes sense. It creates
economic opportunities. The jobs
in the medical cannabis industry
are good jobs.
Union membership has declined
over the last 20 years. How can
this trend be reversed? In New
York, labor is strong. We are the
second highest in percentage of
labor union members, second only
to Hawaii. But still we need strong
labor law reforms. Over 60 percent
of workers who are not in a union
want to be and we need to change the
law to make it easier, not harder, to
join a union.
How did you get involved in the
labor movement? I began my career
as a deli clerk for Waldbaum’s,
in 1970, where I met Manny Laub,
who was the union rep. He signed
me into the union, and we began a
friendship that lasted for the rest
of his life. In 1984, Manny, who had
become the president of our
union, Local 338, asked me
to join the 338 staff. Fifteen
years later, I became the
president of Local 338
and in 2005 I became the
president of The Long
Island Federation of
Labor AFL-CIO.
Do you plan to
remain in your
present position
in the near
term? I love
the work that I
do so I have no
plans to retire
anytime soon. I
feel like I’m still
in my prime.
The day I get up
and don’t feel like
going to work,
then it’s time to go.
John Durso has been president of the Long Island Federation of Labor since 2005.
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