A group of 13 striking New York nurses was arrested Thursday after they linked arms and refused to budge from in front of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper, according to cops and witnesses.
NYPD officers cuffed the demonstrating medical workers without incident in front of 555 West 57th Street — where lobbyists for three Big Apple hospital systems are located — according to footage put online by the New York State Nurses Association.
“It really spoke to the urgency – that we need better pay, better safety, better benefits, to the point that we’re willing to get arrested for it. We’re not professional protesters, we’re professional nurses,” said Rosa, a med-surg nurse.
“This is uncharted territory. None of the women who got arrested have ever been arrested before, I guarantee you. Watching them get taken away, it hit me how far this has gone.”
About 15,000 nurses have been on strike since Jan. 12 as they spar with New York-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals for a new contract.
The two sides have argued over various issues, including pay, worker safety and staffing levels during the nearly month-long work stoppage.
The union said the protest that led to the arrests was against two pro-hospital lobbying groups: the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes (LVHH) and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA).
Charges against the 13 arrested nurses were pending with the NYPD telling The Post that officers gave the striking workers multiple warnings to move away.
The nurses linked arms during the protest, according to bystanders.
A witness, 25-year-old Patrick Reilly, said the protest was “pretty textbook civil disobedience.”
“No one screamed or struggled. A few people cried,” he said.
“I thought it was really brave – a badass move for nurses. It was a little surreal seeing them get taken away in zip ties. One of them reminded me of my mom, who’s a nurse.”
NYSNA said in a statement that they rallied outside the building “so that greedy hospital executives, billionaire board members, and their lobbyists could hear and see our resolve loud and clear.”
LVHH declined to comment.
A GNYHA spokesperson scoffed at the protest.
“You’ll have to ask NYSNA leadership what the purpose of that event was, but it was not good faith bargaining,” he said.
As the strike goes on, there is a tentative agreement on artificial intelligence protections at all hospitals, as well as several more tentative deals on local hospital issues, the union said Thursday.
