Unionizing UnityPoint: Des Moines nurses to vote next month
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UnityPoint Health got its start in Des Moines in 1993 when Iowa Methodist, Blank Children's and Iowa Lutheran hospitals merged to form Iowa Health System. The system was renamed UnityPoint Health in 2013. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios
Registered nurses at UnityPoint Health's Des Moines hospitals — Methodist, Methodist West, Blank and Lutheran — will vote starting Oct. 5 on whether to unionize.
Why it matters: The vote could reshape working conditions for thousands of nurses and, potentially, the care provided by one of Iowa's largest hospital systems.
Catch up quick: An employee-led attempt to unionize started last year.
- Organizers formed United Nurses of Iowa and partnered with Teamsters Local 90. They collected signatures from more than 30% of the approximately 2,000 affected employees, leading to a vote next month.
- They seek a more prominent role in decision-making, including around issues like recent changes in shift-differential calculations they say have negatively affected pay.
Driving the news: Sarah Brown, chief nursing officer at UnityPoint Health, and Becky Nail, interim chief nursing officer at UnityPoint Health DSM, appeared in a video on Sept. 5 — the same day the notice of the election was published — urging employees to vote no.
- They said they've previously worked in unionized environments and have seen the loss of autonomy, individuality and contention unionization brings.
- "The Teamsters do not fit the culture here at UnityPoint Health Des Moines," Brown said.
Friction point: Nail appeared in a separate video Tuesday about the election process, disclosing that UnityPoint was required to share personal details of all eligible voters — including home addresses, phone numbers and private email addresses — to the Teamsters.
- "Whether you support the Teamsters or not, they have your information now," Nail said, noting that employees are not required to speak with union representatives or let them in their homes.
What they're saying: UnityPoint said in an unsigned statement to Axios that it values nurses' dedication, believes direct collaboration — not outside representation — best supports staff and patients, and urges all eligible nurses to be fully informed and vote in the upcoming union election.
The other side: Nurses launched the unionization push to boost patient care and improve staffing and resource shortages, Nicole Ledger, a nurse at Methodist West and member of the union organizing committee, tells Axios.
- "I am shocked at the lengths management will go to stop us from having a seat at the table," she said in a statement.
The big picture: A 2023 research article published in Nursing Outlook, a journal of the American Academy of Nursing, found that unionization tends to improve wages.
Yes, but: Access could worsen due to issues like fewer beds because unionized hospitals are more likely to resolve nurse shortages by temporarily closing beds, according to the article, which reviewed outcomes over the last 50 years.
- Information about job satisfaction and retention was limited or showed mixed results, and further research is necessary to clarify the findings, the authors concluded.
What's next: In-person voting will end on the evening of Oct. 7, with the votes counted the next morning.