Other fast-growing tech companies are encountering similar criticism as they grow. Uber, the on-demand car service, is appealing a ruling by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office that required the company to classify a driver not as an independent contractor but as an employee.

Facebook recently faced its own version of WeWork’s conundrum when the bus drivers who ferried its workers from San Francisco to Silicon Valley, and worked for a subcontractor, demanded better pay. Facebook responded by announcing that all employees of its major contractors would receive at least $15 an hour, paid vacation and sick time, and parental benefits.

Whether WeWork brings all cleaning jobs in house or continues to use contractors, its growing footprint means it will have to be more attuned to the people who clean and maintain those spaces.

Cristian Diaz, 25, moved to Queens from Colombia in 2012 and quickly began cleaning at WeWork spaces around the city. But despite long hours and no vacations, Mr. Diaz said his $10 hourly wage left him with almost nothing to send home to his parents in Medellín. “We were just getting by,” he said. He supported joining the union, hoping it would mean better pay and benefits.

Mr. Diaz, who has been out of work for a month, applied for a new job with WeWork, but has not been offered one.

The Last Word

On the sweltering night in August when Mr. Neumann squared off with the cleaners on West 18th Street, he called for calm after some heated exchanges, and delivered a soliloquy that would be the final word for the evening.

“There’s a saying, ‘God truly helps those who help themselves,’ ” he said. “I understand your heart. I know everybody here is trying to help. You keep pursuing a job at WeWork. If you’re the right fit, you will get a job, because we’re interested in the right people. We’re going to keep growing. But we’re very comfortable with our position. We will definitely not be blackmailed, pushed or aggressively moved into anything. That will not happen. Not in this country, because this is a great country where freedom comes first.”