Labor & Employment Law

2010 Census: Be Counted

By Tula Connell

The 2010 U.S. Census is easy, quick and only 10 questions. Yet a lot is at stake for all of us. The final count will determine many important issues in our communities, including the location and number of congressional seats in each state and federal and state aid for vital services in our schools, senior centers and critical infrastructure projects.

Some 72 percent of us already have filled out and returned our Census forms. Now, more than 600,000 Census takers are fanning out across the nation to visit those who have not returned their forms so the nation can get as accurate a count as possible.

In a new public service announcement (PSA), AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker is getting out the word about the importance of the Census.

When a Census taker comes to your door, please take a minute to answer the 10 easy questions. Your information is confidential.

Seven other union presidents and heads of AFL-CIO constituency groups have recorded similar PSAs.

Writing at Huffington Post, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) also urges everyone to take part in the Census because “with billions of dollars at stake, the answers to 10 simple questions on the Census form will have a huge impact across the country for the next decade.”

Census takers will only ask questions that appear on the 2010 Census form. It is important that anyone contacted by an official census taker answers all the questions fully. They are prohibited by law from asking for any personal information and will not ask any questions pertaining to any outstanding legal proceedings or an individual’s immigration status.

Check out the Census Bureau site to find out more about how it works, why it’s important and what to expect when a Census taker comes to your door.

As Holt Baker says:

Be counted.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on May 10, 2010 (boomark / email).