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bring up real fast a few guys that I met backstage that I was very impressed with. Jack, Jason, Scott, Donald, and Kurt. Come on up here, fellas. Get up here. Come on up here. These guys are great. Come on. They're happy people. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm not prepared, but I can tell you I would rather be nowhere than where I am today with all of my US Steel family, friends, and everybody that I love. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Berg. Thank you, Mr. Morey. And most of all, thank you, Donald J. Trump. We did it. I want to thank everyone for coming. Today is a great day. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Jason Zugai. I'm the former president, current vice president of local 2227. And I've worked at this great plant for 28 years. I'm a third generation steel worker working for US Steel. And by the way, I'm damn proud of that. So when we decided to stand up for the men and women of the Maughan Valley, we knew it wasn't going to be easy. Almost every day there were obstacles in our way. At any point we could have chosen to give up, but we are steel workers and giving up just isn't something we do. These investments will ensure steel will be made right here in Pittsburgh for years to come. And I want to take this time to thank a lot of people that were crucial to getting this partnership to the finish line. First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the strength, courage and wisdom to fight day after day. I want to thank my family for their support. They were always patient with me when I'd be constantly on the phone night after night discussing this partnership, talking to politicians or easing the mind of a union member. I want to thank Jack Maskell. We've been together from the beginning through this. From the many meetings together, DC trips that were nothing but business to just brainstorming daily. Thank you, my brother. There's no one I'd rather have gone to this fight with. We did it. And I told you how bad I hate to lose, and we won, brother. We won. To the guys from Clareton and ET that fought side by side with us from the beginning, it was an honor and I'll never forget our journey. I want to thank the local mayors who stood toe to toe with us from the beginning. We greatly appreciate it. Mayor Kelly, thank you and thank you for your friendship, sir. I want to thank my union brothers and sisters for believing in us and trusting us to get this done. My campaign slogan when I ran for office was I will fight for you. I hope that I have proved that to you. It was my honor. Selena Zito, thank you. From the wonderful articles you wrote in the social media post and everything you have done behind the scenes. You are a rock star. Thank you. Senator Kim Ward, thank you for fighting for us as hard as you did. You were one feisty lady, and I say that with the utmost respect and we appreciate it. The state of Pennsylvania and your constituents are so proud to have you represent us. Thank you. Chris Hall, just a small town guy from shelf that made it out and wanted to give back to his community. Thank you for your words of wisdom and unwavering support for your community. You did a good thing. Congressman Dan Muser, you took our meeting in DC personally and never wavered after that meeting. You fought for us in public and that means the world to us. We will never forget your support and you can count on ours as well. Thank you. Mr. Morey, I love this guy. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our concerns and always making yourself available to answer all of our questions. This man has been disrespected and didn't deserve that. And I feel horrible that that happened to you. We will do everything in our power to see that never happens again. You have my word. These investments are life changing for all the men and women here today and for our communities. I personally look forward to working with you for years to come. Thank you. I want to thank the men from New York and DC that called me every day, every day. They gave me breaking news, advice and guidance through this process. You might have been behind the scenes, but you definitely had a hand in getting this partnership to the finish line. Paul, Curtis, Chris, thank you. U.S. Senator Dave McCormick. I met the Senator at a Trump rally in La Trobe before we were both getting ready to speak. He introduced himself to me and asked about the Nippon merger and what I thought about it. Well, as you know, I'm pretty passionate about it and let him know that he told me after I win, you will be my first meeting. I was his first meeting. He kept his promise. He asked all the tough questions during the meeting and he asked all and he gathered the facts. We met again last week to touch base and he took it from there. Without his help, this partnership doesn't get done. Thank you, Senator, from the bottom of my heart. And last but not least, President Trump. What can I say? I never doubted you'd be there for us when we needed you. When our international endorsed Harris, we decided to take a stand for what we believed was right. That was to come out publicly and boldly in support of you. Although we aren't public speakers, we've tucked our fears aside and did what any proud American would do. We thank you every day for risking your life and laying it all on the line for this country. I knew you wouldn't let us down and for that I will be forever grateful. From every steelworker that supports you and every family you save, I want to say thank you, Mr. President, for making U.S. Steel great again. God bless America. God bless U.S. Steel. Thank you. So my name is Don German. I am the plant manager for this urban works here. I had 35 years with U.S. Steel. I'm a first generation U.S. Steel worker. It is an honor to host you, Mr. President, today. And let me tell you, it was a lot of work, but it was well worth it. But I will always tell people that it is for the workers that are out on this floor. It is for our families that are out here who support us. It is for the community members in our community and our state and our country. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Good afternoon. As you know me, I'm Kurt Farshik. I'd like to tell Mr. President, the day I started at U.S. Steel, my supervisor at the blast furnace told me, "Kid, what are you doing here? Do you think this mill will be here? Look at Homestead. Look at Duquesne. They're not here. You're wasting your time." And I can stand here years later and think about our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren. They're going to have families sustaining good paying jobs, all because of President Trump. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you.

Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.