As Twitchy told you, earlier this week, Atlantic writer Taylor Lorenz helpfully summed up for the rest of us why air conditioning is so awful:
Air-conditioning is unhealthy, bad, miserable, and sexist. I can’t explain how many times I’ve gotten sick over the summer b/c of overzealous AC in offices. #BanAC https://t.co/QPME4lMTVS
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) July 7, 2019
But as far-left socialist outlet Jacobin points out, the discussion prompted by Lorenz’s tweet still didn’t get to the heart of the matter:
Millions of you are suffering in overly air-conditioned workplaces right now. This isn't about remembering to bring an extra sweater to work — it's class war. Workers should be in control of office temperature, not bosses. https://t.co/o2QzzETdeq
— Jacobin (@jacobinmag) July 9, 2019
Aaron Freedman’s piece concludes:
Workers who freeze in their offices should not discount temperature as a cause around which to organize. Office temperature requirements can and should be part of contract negotiations. AC democracy — whether through an elected thermostat representative, direct voting on office temperature, or librarian-style contingencies for extreme temperatures — should be the rule, not the exception, of the American workplace.
AC democracy is a feminist demand as well. At a previous job, for example, most of my coworkers were women, but men dominated senior management (some research has shown that women prefer slightly higher temperatures than men). The summer thermostat was, accordingly, set unduly low, with winter layers the norm, and one coworker even resorting to a clandestine space heater under her desk. Lacking a union, my colleagues had no official recourse for changing the conditions.
And it’s not just about the office: our planet depends on the reasonable allocation of energy-demanding air-conditioning. Workplace democracy is a first step toward ensuring we all have a voice in balancing our individual concerns for comfort with our collective desire to maintain human civilization.
So to media Twitter, I offer this humble plea: before we go after our fellow worker as the enemy in our quest for summer comfort, let’s take the fight to where it really belongs: the boss.
If we were trying to put together a parody of earnest socialism, we’d be hard-pressed to come up with something better than what we just read.
Onion? If not, Onion-worthy.
— ball don't lie (@SidelineRedwine) July 10, 2019
I see @TheOnion and @TheBabylonBee have a new competitor. https://t.co/oM7gdCYwRW
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) July 10, 2019
If nothing else, Jacobin’s good for a laugh.
— Count Mo (@DrMosesAB) July 10, 2019
“suffering” pic.twitter.com/IiKWiQtVNh
— 360 Tactical (@360tactical) July 10, 2019
“Suffering” pic.twitter.com/QQI0RfEEh7
— Catholica, Esq. (@EsqCatholic) July 10, 2019
Dozens of people are suffering…
Just reading this drivel.— ThatMasshole (@DirtyWaterFan) July 10, 2019
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got actual problems in my life that cannot be fixed by putting on a sweater.
— Stone.Cold.Kelly (@HardHatHippie) July 10, 2019
This is satire, right?
-someone currently wearing a cardigan
— Adrienne (@AdrienneRoyer) July 10, 2019
So you assume the workers will be of one mind on what that temperature should be?
— Joe Rival (@JerseyJoe74) July 10, 2019
Bosses: We'll make work comfortable when it's sweltering
Very grateful workers: https://t.co/qJ1oBJZLjR
— Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) July 10, 2019
"Bosses" don't control the A/C, maintenance staff do. Good luck trying to "overthrow" them.
— Small Metal Owl (@SmallMetalOwl) July 10, 2019
Give it a rest, Karl. pic.twitter.com/AXJDZa1psO
— Robert Huntingdon (@scotbot) July 10, 2019
— Ben Young (@mgmben) July 10, 2019
I’m capitalist af, but the fact that this is the ~struggle~ socialists are focusing on tells me capitalism has finally gone too far ? https://t.co/6Ib25gkEcr
— Corie Whalen (@CorieWhalen) July 10, 2019
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