A union vote scheduled for Oct. 5-7 for nurses at four UnityPoint Health hospitals in central Iowa has been postponed indefinitely due to the government shutdown, a spokesperson for the health system confirmed to Becker’s.
The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the vote and issued a notice about the postponement of representation elections and hearings, has not told West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health how long the delay will last. The shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to reach a spending deal.
The postponement comes as approximately 2,000 nurses at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, Methodist West Hospital in West Des Moines and Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines are eligible to vote on whether to join Teamsters Local 90.
Nurses began their unionization effort in November, citing their desire for competitive wages, safe staffing levels and affordable health insurance.
“The process leading up to the election has been stressful and time consuming for all involved and everyone was looking forward to a resolution,” UnityPoint Health said in a statement. “Given the disruption caused by the election and its indefinite delay, we are focused more than ever on working together to care for our patients, families, communities, and each other through our strong values and our collaborative culture.”
A spokesperson for the union confirmed that the UnityPoint election is postponed but did not provide further comment.
