February 1, 2024 — January 23 was Primary Day in New Hampshire, and believe it or not, a PEF member was on the ballet. Raymond Moroz, a chief computer operator at the Office of the State Comptroller and a PEF Executive Board member, is on the Democratic ballot in the state of New Hampshire.
“I am running for U.S. president to protect workers and the working class,” said Moroz during the New Hampshire Institute of Politics Lesser-Known Candidates Forum, held at Saint Anselm College in December 2023. “If elected I would help protect the middle class by increasing unions and union membership.”
Unions have always been a part of Moroz’s life. His first job out of high school was at a Brooklyn-based refinery whose staff consisted of unionized staff. His salary, he recalls, was at least three times the rate of the private sector in 1979. With overtime, he said, he made somewhere around $30 an hour. After taking several different non-union jobs, he ended up taking the New York State exam for a Computer Operator and getting hired at the Comptroller’s Office in 1986, where he’s been ever since.
“The union benefits made it a no-brainer,” Moroz said. “I was doing the same job in private sector IT, but thanks to the union I was making two times or three times more money.”
Moroz has been a PEF member since 1999 and serves on the Executive Board, attends Convention as a delegate and is a steward.
Click the play button above to watch the Lesser Known Candidate Forum as televised on C-SPAN. Moroz speaks at about 8:45.
The forum where Moroz appeared has been a tradition in New Hampshire since 1972. New Hampshire allows candidates to get their name on the presidential primary ballot for only $1,000, which is a much lower entry cost than other states. As a result, there are 45 people on the ballot in New Hampshire .
This is not his first run in New Hampshire’s primary. He found out about New Hampshire’s presidential primary policy while reading an article in The New York Times. He paid the fee and was a candidate in 2016 and 2020 as well.
A the “Lesser-Known Candidates Forum,” Moroz joined 13 other democratic primary candidates on stage at Saint Anselm College not only to share his campaign platform, but to champion the values of his union, unionism, and the working class. He wore a “Union Strong!” sweatshirt to the event.
“I would increase the powers of the National Labor Relations Board to fine big corporations like Amazon, Walmart and Tesla, who are fighting unions tooth and nail,” he said. “I would like to thank President Biden for being the first sitting president to walk the picket line in the UAW strike. This has helped the labor movement tremendously in a positive way.”
Moroz has always run on the democratic line because to him, there is no choice.
“It’s real basic,” Moroz said. “The democratic party platform for decades has always been promoting unions, unionism, and worker protection.”
Moroz believes that labor unions have a hard time politically and get lost or left behind as other issues take up space. The $1,000 investment to run as what he calls an “activist” candidate, is worth it if it helps elevate unions and get people talking.
Moroz said that he hopes other PEF members, unions, and leaders follow his example. Even if it means they will not be president, Moroz believes that getting involved this way furthers the cause.
“I hope that people actually get involved in their union,” he said. “If you can get involved in union principles, and you try to run for office, try to lift the union when you do.”