Remembering Mark Musho

The Philadelphia native, with AAM since its beginnings, was a tireless advocate for American manufacturing.

When greeting Mark Musho, even before the customary hug or handshake, one could not help but smile. His infectious grin and Philadelphia-style welcome were traits that endeared all who came to know the industrious activist.

Musho, a Regional Advocacy Coordinator for the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) based in Philadelphia, passed way suddenly on October 8, 2025, at the age of 70. He will be remembered for his diligent work and fun-loving ways, delivered with a pronounced Philly edge.

Musho was a steelworker for more than 30 years before becoming a field coordinator for AAM. Originally known as Reunion and later Stand Up for Steel, AAM became a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization with alliances to both the United Steelworkers’ Union (USW) and major manufacturing companies. Musho was there for all of it.

“Mark was without question, one of the friendliest human beings I’ve ever come across,” said AAM President Scott Paul. “He had a unique way of making everybody feel welcome. Mark was always the guy who would chat up the bartender or service worker and make them feel valued and have an honest to goodness conversation. He had this wonderful way about him.

“The other thing I always appreciated about Mark was his uncanny ability to always tell it like it is in true Philadelphia sports fan style. It was just unvarnished, to the point but could be with a little edge of conflict without crossing the line. He was a master at that. I always appreciated that, and I really am going to miss that.”

Before joining AAM, Musho was a resolute union advocate for the USW at Local 4889, representing workers at the U.S. Steel Fairless Hills mill. His friends and colleagues relished Musho’s ability to tell a story, his work ethic, his devotion to the Philadelphia Eagles and his love for his family.

George Piasecki has a long history of working in different policy positions for the USW, many of them alongside Musho on different AAM projects.

“Mark was the most generous, friendly guy I probably ever met,” said Piasecki. “Professionally he was a great activist. Whenever I called on Mark, he was there. Mark was one in a million, a generous guy, a friendly guy.

“I never heard anybody say a bad word about Mark. Everybody loved Mark. He was one of those kind of guys.”

Friends and colleagues echoed these same sentiments about Musho. He was a man of character, and he was a character.

Lou Delatore, a longtime fellow regional advocacy coordinator at AAM, worked closely with Musho since the inception of AAM. They often traveled together to advance AAM’s message.

“We were more than coworkers, we were friends,” said Delatore who is based in his home state of West Virginia. “He was one of the greatest story tellers of all time. And he loved Philly.

“We did a great event in Philly way back when. It was with former Eagles players Vince Papale and Jeremiah Trotter. Mark loved it.”

One of the many work projects Musho shared with Delatore was a trip to Germany with Brian Lombardozzi, AAM vice president for state governmental affairs, where they attended Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest trade fairs dedicated to industry development.

“We took a tour of a steel mill in Salzgitter, Germany,” said Lombardozzi, “and after spending I don’t know how many hours complaining that he ‘spent 30 years working in a steel mill, why do I have to see another one?’ Mark talked even more than me when we met with the labor and management at this mill.

“He relayed how different their relationship was to how it was in the U.S. during his time as an elected union official. He also spent most of the tour explaining everything we were seeing on the tour and how different it was from where he had worked. He was like a kid in a candy shop. Later that evening, Mark, of course, found an Irish pub for us in Hannover.

“There are a lot more stories I could tell, but I’m happy to say that over the more than a decade I knew Mark, we went from coworkers to good friends, to occasional partners in crime.”

Musho often became fast friends with nearly every person he worked with. Lew Dopson met Musho in 1980 when they were both on staff of USW Local 4889.

“He was a good union supporter and a very popular guy and hard worker,” said Dopson. “I was a staff rep and at the district conference I ran into a guy that said, ‘hey, I saw a couple of your buddies last night. They were sitting out at two in the morning having a drink and smoking cigars.’ Mark would enjoy a cocktail with a good cigar, but he was a good family man.”

Allison Symmonds met Musho when she was hired at AAM in 2009. Soon after, she was sent to Philadelphia to help with the Philadelphia Eagles event, and Musho, knowing she was young and experiencing her first AAM road assignment, watched over her like a doting father.

“It was my first work trip and he kind of looked after me,” said Symmonds. “Mark would just tell stories about his family. He was so proud of his family and his daughters. I am just a little bit older than his daughters and he would always call me ‘kid.’

“He always knew these hole-in-the-wall places to go, and he would always just fit right in, so it was nice to be able to rely on him. He was a big family man.”

Mark also became a mentor to Jennifer Snyder who is an AAM regional advocacy coordinator in California.

“Mark was one of the first people I truly connected with when I joined the AAM team and he quickly became someone I looked forward to seeing, not just because of his insight, but because he always had a great story to share,” said Snyder. “He could make a simple moment feel like an adventure.

“Mark was incredibly worldly, and I learned so much from the way he understood people, places and experiences far beyond his own. He was fiercely loyal and protective. He loved his family deeply and he spoke about them with a kind of pride and affection that never needed explanation. That love shaped everything about who he was.”

Everybody who knew Musho can attest to his devotion to the Philadelphia Eagles, whether in good times or the bad. As a 42-year season ticket holder, he was fortunate to see them win two Super Bowls in recent years.

“He had this whole other life as an Eagles fan,” said USW’s Ike Gittlen, who interviewed Musho in 2003 before he joined what would become AAM. “His buddies had an RV, and they drove it down to the games and did the tailgate thing. They were diehards. The Eagles hadn’t won anything since the dark ages, and he had the burden of defending the Eagles when they were indefensible. When they finally won, you couldn’t count the joy in Mudville. All the years we were working him over; he paid us back pretty well.”

But it was Musho’s work ethic that most impressed Gittlen.

“He was impressive. He always carried himself with a certain dignity and always professional,” added Gittlen. “If you gave him a task, he got it done. He was a little scrappy. He was gutsy and a really hard worker who didn’t take things for granted.

“He took family pretty seriously. He had two daughters, and they were a very tight family unit. He was very engaged, well beyond their 20s and 30s and was very involved in their lives.

“He loved to tell this story. His name was Musho, but he was Irish, so he goes to the Hibernian Club to sign up, and the guy looks up at him and says, ‘Musho, Italian Club is three doors down.’

“He was a very decent and caring person and a helluva worker. He was a really good guy. It’s a shock. There are people around that you just think are always going to be there.”

Added AAM’s Scott Paul:

“I know how much he loved and cared for his family. His daughters, his wife, his grandkids, and his extended family. I could see how much pride and joy they all gave him. They should know just how everybody loved Mark.”

Musho married the love of his life, Susan Jung Musho on July 7, 1984, and together they shared more than four decades of love and partnership. He was the proud father of Nikole Lutteroty and Halee Musho and the beloved grandfather of Sloane Lutteroty, Cade Lutteroty and Ledger Katz.

A celebration of his life will be held on November 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McLawson’s Corner Bar & Grill, 111 Trenton Rd., Fairless Hills, PA 19030. Everyone is invited to join, wear their Eagles gear, share a story, and raise a Guinness in his honor. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mark’s memory to Unite for HER or the Pennsylvania SPCA, two organizations he proudly supported.