DES MOINES, Iowa —

After more than a year of organizing, nurses from UnityPoint hospitals across the Des Moines metro are moving to form a union, citing a need for more transparency from hospital leadership and improved working conditions.

The nurses are seeking to unionize with the Teamsters, calling on hospital executives for better staffing and equipment ratios, wages and hours.

State Rep. Jennifer Konfrst attended the event and criticized UnityPoint for spending an estimated $3.7 million to $6.1 million on anti-union efforts.

"If anything, the $6.1 million spent for UnityPoint to union-bust has had the opposite effect," Konfrst said. "It’s actually fired them up more, and they’re ready to go."

In a statement to KCCI, UnityPoint Health said, "We believe that direct collaboration is

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