If you live in the good ol’ USA, you live in a country where an orange tabby cat by name of Jorts can become the face of a labor movement, reports CNN. Sweet, sweet internet freedom.
Back in December, Jorts began his viral journey when an anonymous author began posting the cat’s workplace shenanigans on Reddit.
Now, Jorts has his own Twitter account and quite the following.
The Origin Story of Jorts, The Orange Tabby
It’s against the law for your boss to prohibit you from discussing your wages with your coworkers, and also remember there are more workers than there are bosses pic.twitter.com/d5Ln3h7x6N
— Jorts (and Jean) (@JortsTheCat) January 2, 2022
It all started when a user posted about workplace cats Jorts and Jean on Reddit. They describe Jorts as cute “but, well, kind of dumb,” compared to Jean.
You see, Jorts regularly falls into the trash bin, and Jean “is clearly the brains of the operation.” One of the author’s co-workers then accused them of “perpetuating ethnic stereotypes by saying orange cats are dumb.”
Needless to say, it was exactly the kind of kitty comedy the internet adores. Teams were formed, some pro-Jorts and others pro-Jean, which lead to the creation of a Jorts (and Jean) Twitter account, now boasting a whopping 145K followers.
“The explosion of fan art and memes was so entertaining and really touching,” says the post author. “I think we were in a collective moment of needing something tender to gather around.”
How Jorts Became A Labor Movement Advocate
It’s so exciting that so many workers are asking about how to form a union where you work! Jean helped me make a thread of basic advice that applies to most workers in the USA pic.twitter.com/z18qtBHadL
— Jorts (and Jean) (@JortsTheCat) February 8, 2022
Eventually, Jorts established himself as a union cat, or at least the creator of the Twitter account did. He retweets pro-labor accounts, stands up against inequality, and rages against corporate greed.
For some reason, this combination of advice for union organizing mixed with the usual cat shenanigans is simply adored.
Jorts tweets out things like, “Four Steps to Form a Union,” where each step represents one of his paws, which is commenting on recent labor unionization efforts and strikes, most notably within the Starbucks ranks, but also with Amazon and Target.
When it comes to these initiatives, Jorts is a staunch supporter. He regularly posts advice for those seeking to unionize, as well as helpful “did you know” type tweets, such as, “It’s against the law for your boss to prohibit you from discussing your wages with your co-workers.”
“A lot of things are stacked up real unfair right now,” the author tweets on Jorts’ behalf. “Jean says once we name the unfairness the next step is planning how we fight it.”
Keep up with Jorts and Jean over on Twitter.
Have you been following the saga of Jean and Jorts? Do you think Jorts makes a good mascot for the labor movement? Let us know in the comments below.
