PHOTO BY ROBIN OPSAHL/IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH Alex Wilken, a critical care nurse at UnityPoint Health, said he and two other nurses have delivered a letter to UnityPoint Health executives asking for voluntary recognition of a nurses union Aug. 20, 2025.

The unionization vote for nurses working at UnityPoint hospitals has been delayed indefinitely due to the federal government shutdown, according to hospital officials.

The effort for the “United Nurses of Iowa” sought to create a union for roughly 2,000 nurses working at the four UnityPoint hospitals in the Des Moines metropolitan area: Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Blank Children’s Hospital, Methodist West Hospital and Iowa Lutheran Hospital. Organized through the Teamsters Local 90, employees who would be in the proposed bargaining group were supposed to begin voting Sunday on whether to unionize through the National Labor Relations Board.

The nurses involved in the unionization effort called for the health care system to voluntarily recognize the union as a bargaining representative in August. UnityPoint leaders denied the request.

“While we respect our nurses’ right to seek or reject outside representation, we believe that recognizing a union based on a claim of support from a segment of the nursing team is not the best way forward,” a statement released on behalf of UnityPoint Health read. “This type of choice should be made in a way that protects each nurse’s right to a private, fully informed decision, and we believe that can only occur through standard election processes guided by the National Labor Relations Board. If an election is called, we encourage all eligible nurses to vote and make their voices heard.”

Organizers filed for an official vote with the NLRB Aug. 21, having met the threshold of 30% of employees in a bargaining group signing an interest card.

Nurses, union organizers and Democrats held demonstrations both in August and in September. At these events, several nurses said they supported forming a union to address ongoing issues with staff shortages, workplace safety conditions and competitive wages and benefits.

But UnityPoint received notice on Wednesday from the NLRB that the scheduled election would be delayed indefinitely.

“The process leading up to the election has been stressful and time consuming for all involved and everyone was looking forward to a resolution,” a statement from UnityPoint Health officials shared with the Iowa Capital Dispatch said. “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.”

An order released to UnityPoint and Teamsters Local 90 stated that the NLRB was temporary closed because of the lapse in federal funding from the government shutdown which began Sept. 30. The letter stated “it is likely to remain uncertain when funds will become available for the operations of the National Labor Relations Board after midnight September 30, 2025.”

While the funding remains halted because of the shutdown, the NLRB stated elections, ballot counts, and representation case hearings scheduled for Oct. 1 onwards will be postponed indefinitely, with a timeline set out for further deferrals depending on how long the shutdown lasts.

Carly Olney, a Critical Care Unit nurse at Iowa Methodist Medical center, said in a statement Friday the postponement of the election is “disappointing, but it is not the end of our fight.”

“Regardless of UnityPoint’s attempts to make this seem like the end of our campaign, we know our path forward is clear,” Olney said. “Once Congress passes a budget, the board will determine new dates for our election. An election we look forward to. We are strong in our resolve. In the face of adversity, we remember why we started this in the first place; as UnityPoint nurses, we know best what we need to provide the best patient care possible. This means safe staffing, a safe work environment, and the ability to have a say in the decisions that impact us, our families, and our patients every single day.”

There’s currently no end in sight for the shutdown that officially began Wednesday. U.S. Senate Republicans and Democrats have remained in a deadlock on passing a spending bill, with Democrats seeking to extend Affordable Care Act health care tax credits. Though the House has passed a stopgap measure funding the federal government until Nov. 21, it currently looks unlikely that Senate Republicans will be able to gather the needed Democratic votes to approve the bill.

At the same time, White House officials have said they plan to lay off federal workers en masse, a step typically not taken during previous shutdowns.