Check out the guest list for local elected officials at State of the Union address

The State of the Union speech is a tradition that surrounds the presidency, but members of the House and Senate participate in their own traditions. Members of Congress can bring a guest to the State of the Union speech.

Local representatives from Southwestern Pennsylvania are bringing guests to Tuesday’s speech, where President Joe Biden will be giving his second State of the Union address starting at 9 p.m.

Guests tend to be family members, community members, or can be people close to each politician’s campaign. A guest can showcase a political statement by each representative or they can say nothing.

Tribune-Review reached out to several members of Congress from Pennsylvania, for their guest list.

Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall

The newly elected Democrat from Aspinwall is bringing James “Hutchie” VanLandingham, a union worker currently on strike from his job as a mailer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This is Deluzio’s first State of the Union. He invited VanLandignham to show solidarity with the Post-Gazette workers, who are now in their fourth month of being on strike over disputes with ownership surrounding health care benefits.

Meet Hutchie, a union worker on strike at the Post Gazette and my guest for the State of the Union.

A mailroom employee for 28 years and third generation staff member at the paper, he and his colleagues took to the picket line when the paper cut their healthcare. pic.twitter.com/xhQ8kNCDmg

— Congressman Chris Deluzio (@RepDeluzio) February 6, 2023

Deluzio, who has made labor rights a central theme of his legislative priorities, said the Post-Gazette workers deserve better.

“[VanLandingham’s] story is one about hard work and how a union job can uplift and be a source of pride for families,” said Deluzio. “It is also a story about how a company’s owners, despite generations of worker loyalty to that newspaper, have put their greed and lust for profits above all else.”

Deluzio’s district includes Beaver County, as well as suburbs in the west, north, and east of Allegheny County.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock

After a barrage of attack ads directed at Fetterman during last year’s campaign related to his work on the state’s Board of Pardons, Pennsylvania’s new Senator is bringing one of the men who he helped free from incarceration to the State of the Union address.

Dennis “Freedom” Horton and his brother, Lee, were imprisoned for nearly 28 years following convictions of second-degree murder, which means an automatic sentence of life without parole. Dennis Horton will be joining Fetterman in Washington, D.C. for the address.

While lieutenant governor, Fetterman advocated to have their sentences commuted and, in 2021, the brothers were released.

After their release, they both worked as field organizers for Fetterman’s campaign, which had a large focus on criminal justice reforms. However, Fetterman’s Republican opponent, celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, attacked Fetterman over the inclusion of the Horton brothers, calling them “convicted murderers” in attack ads in an attempt to paint Fetterman as being soft on crime.

Fetterman won his race by 5 percentage points. He said in a statement he was honored to be joined by Dennis Horton and he pledged to fight for “second chances for those that deserve them.”

“The incarceration of Dennis and Lee for a crime they did not commit is a stark reminder of the work we need to do to make our criminal justice system more equitable and fair,” said Fetterman. “We should not be a society about vengeance, we should be a society about redemption.”

Pennsylvania’s other Senator, Bob Casey, will not be attending the State of the Union address this year.

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler

The Republican from Butler will be attending Tuesday’s State of the Union speech and his office said that Kelly will be bringing his son. His office did not provide any additional information.

Kelly’s district covers Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer counties, as well as parts of Venango County.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale

Lee has made an effort to ensure labor issues at local healthcare giant UPMC is a keystone of her political career and that continues with her choice of guest for the State of the Union address.

Longtime UPMC worker and labor activist Nila Payton will join Lee in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night. Payton has been calling for union organizing rights and better benefits at UPMC for years. She has also spoken openly about the medical debt struggles of many UPMC workers. Lee said she wanted to recognize Payton’s advocacy.

Nila Payton, a senior administrative assistant at UPMC and long time activist w/@seiuhcpa , will be joining @RepSummerLee at the #StateOfTheUnionAddress.

Nila has been fighting for better wages, affordable healthcare, and union rights alongside her coworkers for nearly a decade. pic.twitter.com/azEKHhZfRP

— Hospital Workers Rising (@PGHHospitalWork) February 7, 2023

“No hospital worker should be in medical debt to their employer–especially when that employer rakes in billions on the backs of Pittsburgh taxpayers each year,” said Lee. “I’ve been proud to fight alongside Nila Payton since my days as a State House Rep and it’s been a privilege to stand in solidarity with the movement she has built organizing for livable wages, safe conditions, and collective bargaining power for all Pittsburgh Hospital Workers.”

Last month, Lee highlighted a report criticizing UPMC that claimed the organization was acting as a monopoly in the local health care industry. UPMC pushed back against that characterization and said it has recently announced that its minimum wage would be increased to $18 an hour.

Lee’s district covers Pittsburgh and communities in the Mon Valley, eastern Allegheny County and western Westmoreland County.

Both Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, and Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, R-Centre County, did not respond to a request for comment.