This week, UnityPoint nurses in Des Moines voted on whether to form a union, but the results are still undetermined after hundreds of ballots were challenged for their validity.
Following the vote on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 871 UnityPoint nurses voted for the union, while 666 voted against it.
However, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is leading the unionization effort, said they are challenging the validity of another 251 ballots. This means the results of the election will be undetermined until the National Labor Relations Board can review the challenged ballots to see if they should be counted.
The nurses need a simple majority to form a union. How the National Labor Relations Board rules on the challenged ballots will determine the outcome of the election.
Nurses who supported the effort are feeling disheartened about the undetermined result, but remain hopeful the count will remain in their favor to help address workplace concerns, said Carly Olney, a critical care nurse at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines.
"We can't take the best care of our patients if we are overworked," she said. "We haven't even eaten lunch all day, and we're working 12, 13 hours a day. We're taking care of way too many patients — far more than what we are able to do."
There's a lot riding on the vote, she said.
"We get this contract, and we have every intention going forward of adding on, if they would like to join, our respiratory therapists, our patient care techs, pharmacy, environmental services, dietary I mean, the list just keeps going on and on," she said.
A spokesperson for UnityPoint Health — Des Moines said in a statement it doesn’t believe there is any merit to the Teamster’s ballot challenges.
"We have reason to believe they only challenged the ballots of certain nurses based on how they believed those nurses would vote," the statement read. "UnityPoint Health did not challenge the ballots of any nurses currently employed in the bargaining unit — we believe everyone’s vote should count and everyone’s voice should be heard."
