The election comes as workers grapple with a contentious move out of the Beltway.

Employees at the Economic Research Service (ERS), an independent agency at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), will vote to form a union on May 9. The election is scheduled just days before the USDA announces where in the United States it intends to move them, Politico reports, as part of a contentious relocation plan.

The ERS employees will likely vote to be represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which already represents over 100,000 USDA workers nationwide (primarily inspectors). AFGE would negotiate on behalf of 214 economists, analysts, and other ERS employees as the department moves forward on relocating most of them to one of 68 possible locations—primarily rural and college communities.

The AFGE’s plan is two-pronged. In addition to representing workers and negotiating relocation terms, the union is also lobbying senators—including Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan—to stop the move altogether. (Democratic Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine has introduced a bill in the House to keep ERS right where it is.)

The AFGE represents nearly 700,000 federal employees, 320,000 of whom are dues-paying members, according to organizer Peter Winch. It represents workers at multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, State, Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Overall, nearly 32 percent of federal employees are already represented by unions, a higher rate than many other industries.

AFGE has bargained on behalf of workers during relocations of other government offices, such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Typically, though, the relocations are inside the Beltway, according to Winch.

Additionally, 235 employees at the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which is also facing a relocation, will vote to unionize with AFGE later in May. NIFA allocates funding to land grant universities.