John R. Durso has been the President of Local 338 since 1999, when he was elected for the first time after spending nearly fifteen years in different positions at the union, including organizer, union representative and Assistant to the President. 

In the years leading up to his employment at Local 338, Durso worked in a variety of supermarket and warehouse jobs, where he learned the value of being a union member. He credits this experience as a learning tool for how he leads the staff and membership. “I saw the good that the union did and had the potential to do,” he said, “I wanted to be a part of that.” Durso takes pride in being able to have a positive influence on the lives of his membership and believes “every day is an opportunity to do good for the people we have the privilege to represent.” 

In addition to his role as President of Local 338, he is also President of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, a role he was first elected to in 2003. 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.

Joseph Fontano joined the Local 338 family in June of 2006, after spending several years working in both New York State and City governments. During his time in politics, Joe worked on and managed several political campaigns on Staten Island and in Brooklyn, as well as worked in the offices of New York City Council Speakers Peter Vallone, Sr. and Gifford Miller. 

Prior to his time working in government, Joe spent six years working in A&P/Waldbaums on Staten Island while attending high school and college. The years he spent in those stores gave Joe a good understanding of what Local 338’s members experience in the shops on a daily basis. 

In 2015, Joe was elected to the position of Secretary-Treasurer, a role in which he fights on behalf of our members to improve their rights and protections on the job.

Neil E. Gonzalvo got his start in the labor movement shortly after graduating college in 1992. He started his career working in the claims department of a local healthcare union. It was there that he discovered his passion for helping working people and in no time, he was promoted to the position of union representative. Following his Local’s merger into another union, he joined another healthcare local union in NYC and became an organizer. As an organizer, he was responsible for the day to day representation work, as well as organizing and negotiating contracts. 

In 2004, Gonzalvo came to Local 338 to work as a union representative. He moved up the ranks to become Executive Vice President in 2017. Under his leadership of the field operations, Local 338 has been able to successfully negotiate contracts with hundreds of employers, including Stop and Shop, ACME, Gristedes and ShopRite. 

On a personal note, Neil is perhaps proudest of his two daughters. A self-proclaimed “dance dad,” he regularly shuttles his daughters to dance practice and attends all of their competitions.

Rosa Lafontaine first became a member of the Local 338 family in 1987, when she was a member working at Gristedes. Her passion for the union movement was evident during her time as a member, and that carried into her job as an organizer when she joined the Local 338 team in 2000. 

As an organizer, Rosa used her experience as a member in the shops of our union to explain to workers the benefit a union can make in your workplace—along with the possibility of higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions, a union is there to protect your rights while on the job! After working as an organizer for 4 years, Rosa became a Funds/Service Representative and began servicing Local 338 shops across Manhattan, where she helped educate members on the benefits they receive through their union contract. 

In 2005, Rosa was promoted to Union Representative, a role she still holds today! She proudly represents workers across the West Side of Manhattan and northern New Jersey, in shops like Duane Reade, Morton Williams, Gristedes, and Housing Works. On November 29, 2022, Rosa was elected by the Local 338 Executive Board to serve as our next Recorder, a role she is extremely proud to fulfill.

   “Being part of this union for 35 years and learning what Local 338 has been doing for the members has made me very proud to be a part of this union.”