My name is Kieran Holcomb, I am seventeen years old and my economic human rights have been violated. As far back as I can remember my education in public school has failed the stated rights of the universal declaration of human rights. Article 26 states that eduction shall promote understanding and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. In my experience, public school teachers with serious lack of funding and proper tools put this influence aside and the social structure is severed, separated and hostile. Teachers can stereotype each student based on their clothes, race, and religion, which usually go hand in hand with their home income. When students cannot afford the bus or whose parents don't have a car to drive them to school, teachers and administrators blame the students no matter how hard they try. No matter what the argument may be, teachers treat poorer students and minorities differently. Some students cannot pay for paper and books because they need the money they have to eat. I have never been in a class where there have been enough textbooks for everyone. The books that we have are shared with every other class that needs them. I have received failing grades when I not had enough money for field trips. We need to band together as teachers and students and parents to receive proper education funds. The discrimination, violence and dropout rates can all be traced back to economics.
I have been working jobs since I was 13 years old. Article 23 of the human rights declaration states that everyone has the right to favorable work conditions, work without discrimination, to form trade unions for personal job protection and equal pay for equal work. I have been denied these basic rights. I have worked at Michelangelo's pizza and received no break during six to eight hour shifts. When working at Great Harvest Bakery, I performed the same duties as older staff, worked even more hours, and have secured an assistant manager position but was still paid two dollars less than out of high school employees, without diplomas. At the Linden Hills Co-Op, working in the produce department, we were short staffed by at least two employees, and the profit made in recent months because of the lack of workers to pay is going to unnecessary remodeling and painting that is solely for the purpose of the look of the store.
Before quitting I was asked by my manager to sign documents stating that I would have perfect attendance for two months no matter what illness or complication may occur. If I were to be absent, my job would be terminated because we did not have enough employees in our department to cover a sick day for anyone. I did not sign these documents. I quit that day. The necessities of that workplace would be more workers, better training and workers rights to be sick or absent when needed, and focus on better products instead of looks for customer satisfaction. It is called a co-op, but is in fact in corporate partnership, which takes away the element of being community run and is actually too expensive for most people in that specific community to afford on a regular basis, which I have been directly told by people living in that community, My mother has worked two full time jobs for the past eight or so years. She makes close to $65,000 a year which would be considered pretty good. What most don't know is that she is still paying nursing home and cremation bills for my grandmother, college loans for my sister who graduated two years ago, my brother's current college loans, plus rent, food and everything that needs to be payed for to live. So, when it comes down to it, we do not have much money at all. We are burdened with debt.
This year, even though I am still a minor, for some reason as a seventeen year old, instead of getting a couple hundred dollars back from the IRS like in the past, my mom is supposed to pay the federal government around eight hundred dollars for me. I do not receive money from my parents, nor do I ask for it. I have been living paycheck to paycheck for close to four years, paying for necessities when I am outside of home. I receive food, and housing which is all I really need, so I am thankful, but I am pretty much on my own economically. My father has been living with us for two years, which was going to be temporary until he got back on his feet. The problem is, he can't afford to live on his own yet. He is affected, my mother is affected, and my brother in college has little no absolutely no cash flow besides small acting work when he is not studying acting at the U of M every day until 9-11 p.m. My sister lives out in Oregon and survived for two years by dumpster diving when she had no access to food or money to buy that food.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, healthcare and security. I come from a white, middle class family, who is not economically doomed, but definitely affected by human rights violations every day.
