In case you missed this piece in Sunday’s NYT, despite the communitarian ethos of the sharing economy, coworking is not immune to labor disputes, especially when practiced as a big business, a la WeWork (52 spaces in 16 cities). I’m sympathetic to both sides of this dispute, though I tend to favor the cleaners over WeWork’s owners, with their $10 Billion valuation (you read that right). I like the way WeWork responded, hiring many of the out-of-work cleaners from its former contractor, and paying them $15-18/hr + healthcare. But it’s complicated.
I’m curious to hear others’ opinions, and whether any other coworking companies – whether chains or single-location shops – have had labor troubles, and how you/they have handled them.
Discuss.
-Leif
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Leif Utne
VP of Business Development
+1.612.327.0123
linkedin: linkedin.com/in/leifutne/
twitter: @leifutne
blog: leifutne.com
skype: leifutne
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