Be Counted! CSEA members urge everyone to respond to U.S. Census

Needler: Census is our civic duty

Needler

Editor’s Note: Suzanne Needler, Niagara County Local Recording Secretary and Niagara County Unit Vice President, discusses her involvement in taking the U.S. Census and how it’s become a family tradition.

“It’s very important that everyone gets counted in the census because it determines the representation we get in the United States Congress, which is very important to getting funding for our schools, hospitals, and local areas.

For every person who is not counted, [it costs]about $2,000 per year over the next 10 years until the next census, which comes to $20,000 per person that our state does not receive over a 10-year period.
We need to count everybody, and everybody gets to be counted. It doesn’t matter if you’re a citizen, an immigrant, a refugee, or if you’re homeless because resources for where you live pay to help people.

People are afraid that [the census will be used]to seek out immigrants and find them, but the Census Bureau cannot share census responses with the public or government agencies.

I (was a census taker) 20 years ago when my daughter was just born. I was off for a year with her, and I took her around in a stroller. Again, 10 years later, we went out. Now, she’s 21 and she’ll be doing this census with her father, so it’s kind of a family tradition.

It’s just very important to be counted in the United States. It’s very important for our representation and for funding and I believe it’s your civic duty, just like voting, to stand up and be counted.
I don’t want to lose any representation here in New York. We need as much representation as we can and it’s determined by how many people live in your districts and your state.”

— Nicholas Newcomb

: “The U.S. Census is incredibly important. Proving the density of Long Island’s population will increase our chances of receiving the funding we need for our infrastructure, education and public health programs.” — CSEA City of Long Beach Unit Recording Secretary Maureen Fox

: “The census is so important because of the money the state receives due to each person being counted. Our jobs are dependent on that, especially in New York with the amount of people leaving the state. It’s more important in New York than probably anywhere else. I think it impacts everything in our school districts, with the amount of money we get back from the state, even at the federal level. [The census] just impacts everything. Being counted in the census is so important for our jobs, our income and the services we provide.” — Darryl Hertel, West Seneca School District Unit President

: “Every CSEA member has to make it their personal responsibility to fill out the census form. Without federal funding, municipalities may not receive the necessary monies to fund civil service jobs.” — CSEA City of Long Beach Unit member Jarvon Jackson