Pittsburgh-area steelworker Joseph Burgess gets front-row seat at State of the Union address
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You’re minding your business, going to your job at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works, and the next thing you know, you have a front-row seat for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
How does that happen?
For Joseph “JoJo” Burgess of Washington, Pa., it started with an invitation to attend Biden’s Jan. 28 visit to Carnegie Mellon University’s advanced manufacturing research facilities at Mill 19 in Hazelwood. A member of United Steelworkers Local 1557, Burgess works as a new employee organization trainer.
Just before the visit, Burgess got an offer from the union’s international vice president, asking if he would introduce the president at the event.
“I’m looking at my wife like, are you serious?” he said. “It was the luck of the draw — or the luck of the Lord, I would say — that’s all it was.”
Burgess thinks that connection is what got him invited to sit in first lady Jill Biden’s box for the Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress.
There is a longstanding tradition of first ladies hosting special guests for the State of the Union Address. Jill Biden’s guests were chosen to “represent policies or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech,” according to a White House press release.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this,” Burgess said. “I still don’t believe it happened.”
The experience got even more surreal from there.
In advocating for passage of the Bipartisan Innovation Act to revitalize American industry, Biden said, “All told, we created 369,000 new manufacturing jobs in America just last year. Powered by people I’ve met like JoJo Burgess, from generations of union steelworkers from Pittsburgh, who’s here with us tonight.”
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“It was such an overwhelming feeling when that happened,” Burgess said. “I can’t even really describe it, but it was definitely an honor and a privilege to be mentioned like that.”
Many of Biden’s points hit home for Burgess.
As a veteran, he said he was moved as Biden began with remarks on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, vowing “an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, was seated nearby.
“The whole speech hit me throughout,” Burgess said. “It hit me being a union member when he talked about manufacturing. It also hit me being a Gulf War veteran, when he talked about what the VA is doing for veterans and veterans getting the proper care that they need, things that this country should provide for them upon their service to this country.
“Everything (Biden) said last night was spot on,” he continued. “I have 10 grandchildren; their mothers and dads all work. Child care and health care for kids is vital for me because I’m watching another generation grow up and they need help. This speech was very powerful and very good for me.”
Prior to the address, Burgess and other special guests attended a reception at the White House.
“The first lady comes in and says ‘Hi, JoJo,’ like she knew who I was already,” he said. “My birthday was on the 28th, which was Monday, and a couple of us had (recent) birthdays, so they had cupcakes with our names on them.
“They sang us ‘Happy Birthday’ in the White House. That’s how the evening started off for me — it was amazing,” he said.
A 20-year member of the United Steelworkers union and the son of two former steelworkers, Burgess assists with training new hires at the Clairton facility. After graduating from Trinity High School in Washington in 1988, he spent seven years in the U.S Army, including a tour during Operation Desert Storm.
Burgess is an active member of the NAACP Washington branch and works with the local Black Lives Matter organization. He also works with the union’s rapid resource program as congressional coordinator for 14th Congressional District.
His son, A’Shon Burgess, 23, recently became a third-generation steelworker.
Jill Biden’s other State of the Union special guests were Joshua Davis, a 13-year-old diabetes advocate from Virginia; Refynd Duro, a progressive care unit nurse at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center; Patrick Gelsinger, CEO of Intel; Frances Haugen, a specialist in algorithmic product management; Melissa Isaac, an enrolled member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Michigan and mental health care advocate for indigenous youth; Danielle Robinson, a military widow and advocate for service members and veterans who have been exposed to environmental hazards and burn pits while serving; and Kezia Rodriguez, a parent and full-time community college student in New Jersey.
Also seated in Biden’s box were Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris; and the president’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens.