Got fired, dont know where to go from here

Well I just moved out of my folk's house, and paid my first month's rent staying with my friend as a roomie. Well Last Saturday I was going to call in for work (was really sick, natious, little throwup) it was only my 3rd time calling in since i been there (1 year and 3 months). We're sopose to call 1 hour before our scheduled time. Well I was sopose to be there at 12 but I seriously thought it was 1 (i usually work 1-10 saturdays) so I end up calling in at 12:45. I talked to the store manager said They suspended 3 people in my department that day and really needed me to make it, I told him i'd TRY(which i tried, didn't happen). I handle alot of produce and touch alot of food at my job so not only was I not physically able to work but it was UNSAFE FOR ME TO HAVE WENT.

Well my department manager calls my a hour later "where you at (store manager) told you to come on." I explained how I just couldn't make it which he replies "well if you dont come today dont come anymore cause your fired thats how it is" and hung up on me. So I was not any more motivated to go and went to sleep.

I woke up that evening called my department head to apologize which he basically said fuck you and hung up again. Well my store manager has my back right he never told me I HAD to go. Wrong. He doesn't end up listening to a word I say and everytime im in the middle of talking I can hear him talk to someone else and either ask me to repeat what I said or not respond to what I say at all... Then at end tells me the department head will call me when they make a decision.

The company I work for the full-time employees are part of a large union (which we pay 10 dollars a week for) to basically protect us from the shithead store managers. Well it's thursday and I still havn't gotten ahold to the union guy I need to talk to and to make me look worse he has returned my call atleast 3 times which my phone has been dead (lost charger during the move for awhile) or simply didn't see the call til I got the voicemail in the hectic of moving so he might think my job's not important to me anyway.. He's at a funeral today so im waKING up early tomorrow to call... But I feel it might be a lost cause now...

I really dont know what to do it is hard to find a job in the shitty south (or anywhere really, right?) and i really dont want to work "just any" job... I've considered joining the military but im not sure since I have a steady relationship with my g/f right now and I really dont want to leave her behind, but I cant be a broke bum forever either.. I can move back with my parents anytime but with them, my brother, sister and her 2 kids, im good right now....

Im really stuck at what to do. Thanks for reading my rant and thanks for any future replies..

Sounds like you are having some shitty luck. My advice would be to update your resume and start applying everywhere to get your feet back on the ground. In the meantime, make it a point to talk to this union guy. Your phone dying or being wrapped up in the hectic of moving are real piss poor excuses.

Every day you are off you're not getting paid.

I don't think it's fair that they fired you for calling in sick, but it was your fault for not calling in when you were supposed to. I see these kind of excuses every week with people calling off. What would you do if you were down 3 people and one of your decent workers called off sick when they were supposed to be punching in and starting their shift, giving you no time at all to find a replacement.

Good luck to you, keep us posted.

in all honesty, you made the decision yourself. in order to reap the rewards of responsibility, you have to actually act responsible. if i were in your shoes and somehow called in way later than i was supposed to, and was given an ultimatum like that, you better believe i'd show up sick as a dog. i'd also still have my job.

anyway, the bad news is you're out of a job. the good news is there are more jobs, and you're learning some valuable lessons here. hopefully in the future once you get another job, you're able to apply the knowledge you've learned about the importance of punctuality and how it correlates with being responsible in general.

ps: the best course of action right now is to not move back in with your parents btw. don't do it. get a shitty minimum wage job if you have to and keep paying rent.

If my boss told me to come in to work, or Im fired. Well, I probably would have went. Maybe then they could have seen how sick you were, and they would have sent you home.

If you went to the doctor and can provide evidence of that (doctor's note or copay receipt) that will help your argument. If you were too sick to go to work but not sick enough to see a doctor then you're S.O.L. - from your employer's perspective.

In this job economy, it's best to show your responsibilities when it comes to your job. Everyone gets sick around this time of the year, it's just something you have to deal with. I've been at work sick with a fever, I've thrown up at work before, shit happens. It sucks being sick, but sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and bear it.

It's not up to me to tell you what you should have done. (Personally I think you should have gone to work but hey you can't change the past so...). What you should do at this point is keep searching for a job. Moving back with your parents is a last resort. Obviously if you had the means to move out, you still have some money saved up where you can live comfortably for at least a few months, if not more. Keep searching. Check every day for jobs. Network. You never know what could pop up. If you need to, file for unemployment. But only if you need to.

Keep trying to get in contact with your union leader. But don't put all your eggs in that basket. There are plenty of other jobs out there. You gotta do what you gotta do, even if it's not your ideal job. Good luck.

It's time to get a better job anyway. Be more responsible. I'm not really buying the whole "I tried but it's them." speech you gave us, there is always 3 sides to each story. Your view their view and what really happened. They are probably in legal right to fire you for 3 inexcusable absences. Question is are you a good worker? They were likely looking for a reason to let you go and you gave them one.

Keep up with the union guy. Kind of ironic that he's not dependable... Look for another job. Even if it's one you don't want take it and continue to look.

Ok the union set up a meeting between me, him, and the company on Thursday. Any advice on what to say how to say it or what to do? I want them to know I do wanna work for them, though i'd like to switch departments

Then tell them that. Be direct. Tell them what you want. That's how people who get what they want do.