Labor Board certifies election result; 191 registered nurses officially free of unwanted union at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s – Downtown location

Sioux City, IA (July 1, 2026) – Registered nurses at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s – Downtown hospital have successfully voted to remove United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 222IN union officials from their workplace. The nurses’ “decertification” effort was spearheaded by nurse practitioner Timaree Henneman, who filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 26, seeking a decertification election to end the UFCW’s unwanted monopoly control over the hospital’s registered nurses. The nurses’ petition was filed with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Henneman’s petition was signed by enough of her coworkers to trigger the NLRB to administer a secret-ballot election among all 191 nurses, including full-time, regular part-time, and PRN registered nurses employed at the UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s – Downtown facility.

The election, which took place on June 18, saw the nurses vote 80-71 to end the presence of UFCW Local 222IN at their hospital. The NLRB certified the election result on June 30, formally revoking the UFCW’s status as the nurses’ monopoly “representative.”

Iowa is one of 26 states with a Right to Work law, which safeguards workers by making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary. However, even in Right to Work states, federal law grants union officials the power to impose exclusive “representation” over every employee in a work unit—including those who never voted for, joined, or supported the union—dictating their terms and conditions of employment.

“We congratulate this group of nurses on exercising their legal right to remove unwanted UFCW union bosses from their hospital,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Ultimately, this case is a reminder of the twin powers that have been granted to union officials to the detriment of the rights of individual workers: forced union dues and union boss monopoly bargaining powers.

“While Iowa’s popular Right to Work law protects these nurses and others from being forced to fund a union they oppose, under federal law employees—whether or not they enjoy Right to Work protections—can be forced under the so-called ‘representation’ of union officials they oppose,” added Mix. “We look forward to the day when every individual employee has the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to associate with a union.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.