WeWork under pressure as more members contract coronavirus in co-working spaces

The co-working company assured members of the Madison Avenue location on Wednesday that it cleaned the floor on which the infected individual worked and visited just three days earlier. The site was back in business by Thursday.

But Lavagnino is disturbed that WeWork, known especially for its communal perks such as cold brew coffee or beer on tap, did not shutter the location completely or even try to help its members determine whether they interacted with the infected individual. Hours after the site reopened, the company announced that someone else tested positive and two more floors needed to be cleaned.

As government officials encourage workers to stay home, there's a growing chorus of small business owners - a group likely to be hit hardest in the economic fallout from coronavirus - who are angry that WeWork has refused members refunds for a space they can no longer use.

"We're told by our government that for our health to stay at home and I've told my employees all to stay at home," Lavagnino, co-founder of financial planning platform CentSai, told The Washington Post. "I'm paying close to $5,000 a month in rent and I'm not there. Imagine how crippling that is to a small business."

And the uproar is only likely to grow as the pandemic spreads. WeWork members at at least seven other different New York locations tested positive for the disease, the New York Post reported. There have been other reported cases in major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

Some members have signed onto a petition on the worker advocacy platform Coworker.org calling on WeWork to close its 848 locations worldwide. There are more than 300 locations in the United States.

Jill Raney, a Washington-based WeWork member who launched the petition, says the company's decision to remain open during a public health crisis is "unconscionable." She says it effectively forces businesses with small margins to choose between wasting money or putting themselves at risk of infection.

"Psychologically, it's messing with me that I'm paying for a service [that's] not safe for use," says Raney, who founded the digital strategy group Practice Makes Progress and is the only employee.

WeWork's position is in stark contrast to some competitors, such as women-focused co-working collective The Wing and Washington-based meeting and event space The Cove, which shut down their sites in light of the public health concerns.

The Wing also offered members refunds. WeWork's biggest competitor, Regus has not closed its offices and did not respond to requests for comment about whether it plans to offer refunds.

WeWork argues that staying open is, in fact, in the public interest and that the business is an essential service - especially in the time of coronavirus. That phrasing seems designed to position the company to continue to operate even in states such as New York and California which have issued orders for non-essential companies to close or reduce their workforces, though the company would not directly comment on this.

"WeWork is a service provider and we have an obligation to keep our buildings open," the company wrote in a statement on Twitter, echoing an internal memo from chief executive Sandeep Mathrani and executive chairman Marcelo Claure. "We too have members counting on us to remain open so they can run their companies."

The tweet quotes three anonymous members who say the company they're providing essential healthcare and financial support services during the pandemic.

The company insists it's taking all the proper health precautions. "Since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, WeWork has been closely monitoring the situation and ensuring preventative measures are implemented in line with the [Centers for Disease Control], [World Health Organization] and local government guidance to protect our employees and members around the world," Ralph Patrone, WeWork's head of global security and safety, said in a statement to The Washington Post.

"We have a robust emergency preparedness plan in the event any member or employee contracts the Coronavirus, which includes notifying members, closing impacted floors or buildings, and working with our cleaning partners to deep clean and disinfect the space."

The company has also suspended events at its locations around the world and allowed employees, including the front desk and other operations staffs that work at individual locations, the opportunity to work from home.

WeWork did not respond to questions about if it would consider refunding members and declined to comment on Raney's petition. WeWork members, on Twitter and on the company's internal app, say their request for refunds were either refused or have gone unanswered by the company.

WeWork has undergone significant turmoil at the corporate level in the past few months, something that some members believe has trickled down to its coronavirus response. WeWork founder Adam Neumann stepped down as chief executive in October after the company delayed its public offering amid concerns over his behavior and questions over the company's finances. Now Japanese investment firm SoftBank is considering backing out of part of the planned massive bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. (WeWork executives disputed that characterization in an internal memo.)

Despite WeWork's assurance that it's following all local government guidelines, Raney and other WeWork members expressed concerns that the WeWork offices - which can house hundreds of employees - go against warnings from local and federal officials to cap the size of gatherings.

Raney said when she last went into the Manhattan Laundry location on U Street last Friday, nothing had been done to separate communal furniture. She noticed no difference in cleaning schedules and communal drinks were still readily available.

The announcements of new cases illustrate the difficulties in containing the spread of such a highly contagious disease. "Anyone who's been in a WeWork knows if you can't get a conference room on your floor you're going to another floor. You go to mail for another floor," she said. One of the floors set to be deep cleaned at the Madison Avenue location after its second positive coronavirus case was near the mail room, Lavagnino said.

Lavagnino is troubled that the company has not answered her questions about its cleaning policies, while WeWork sent out a music playlist curated by the company to over its internal app to help them work from home.

Raney hopes that if WeWork doesn't choose to shut down, local governments will step in. As for Lavagnino, she doesn't plan on renewing her lease when it expires in May.

"They have an opportunity to help small businesses - but the way this has been handled was so mismanaged."