Registered nurses at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s-Downtown hospital in Sioux City, Iowa, have voted to remove United Food and Commercial Workers Local 222IN as their bargaining representative.
The vote was 80-71 in favor of union decertification, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which certified the result June 30.
The June 18 election followed a petition filed by nurse practitioner Timaree Henneman with the NLRB on behalf of her colleagues requesting the board hold an election on whether to decertify the union, according to a July 1 news release from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which assisted with the effort.
In a statement to Becker’s, the hospital’s parent organization, West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health, said, “We are committed to continue working directly with Downtown Campus registered nurses, listening to their questions and supporting them through this transition. We believe having a direct relationship with our nurses will improve our ability to provide high-quality care and exceptional experiences for the patients and communities we serve.”
Becker’s has reached out to UFCW Local 222IN for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
The nonprofit UnityPoint Health provides care across Iowa, western Illinois and southern Wisconsin through its hospitals, clinics and home health services, recording nearly 8 million patient visits annually, according to its website.
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