Mostly this is just a small rant. Originally I'm from NYC. I was always taught to fight when someone is trying to screw me over and to value my time highly. I'm an insanely hard worker and in most jobs I've worked I'm quickly promoted and make myself an important part of staff but I also have strong professional boundaries and if they become a problem I'm always glad to look for something else.
Currently I live in a small town in the south. I wound up here due to covid and moved in with my partner. I had a job that crossed my boundaries in so many ways but I stuck it out while looking for a new job. The last straw for me was when they tried to encourage me to ignore covid symptoms and a positive at home test (apperently those don't count) mid outbreak in the shop. There were literally two of us left, both symptomatic, and they refused to close for the night. So I quit. They tried to deny me money I was owed, I went to the labor board and got everything and more.
Now the problem. The town is super small and I don't drive so my job options are extreemly limited. I have been applying for six months and get interviews but never calls back. I applied at a place a friend of mine worked and the owner was talking like it was a for sure thing after the interview… until I never got a call back. I asked my friend if she knew what was up and she explained that she heard her boss mention that someone told her I was troublesome and she decided to go a different way. I've only worked one job in this town and I knew many of the owners around here talked but I didn't realize how harshly this would affect me. The list of rejections is piling up and the only jobs I get calls back for after interviews are ones I can't accept (They are all like an hour walk away. So I cannot work nights as the town isn't safe to walk through after dark. Another friend of mine almost got yanked off her bike by some men not even a week ago and it wasn't even dark out).
I never realized something like a blacklist was something outside of movies and I've never felt so confined and pinned down by a place I've lived before. I'm so lucky my partner and family are helping me through this or I'd have been without anything.