Production workers at Washington, D.C.s popular venues 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis and Lincoln Theatre have voted to unionize.

In an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board onsite at the venues on January 15 and 21, 80 percent of stagehands, audio engineers, lighting technicians and other concert production workers chose to be represented by International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 22. Box office workers voted unanimously to be represented by IATSE Local 868. In total, about 150 workers took part. All the venues are operated by I.M.P., which had until Jan. 28 to challenge the results.

The move comes after more than 300 production staff had announced an intent to unionize in October, including production staff as well as employees in food services, box office and those staffing the door. Food, beverage and staffing workers who were looking to organize with food service union UNITED HERE Local 25 were voluntarily recognized in November, but other staffers had to go through an election process with the National Labor Relations Board.

The 9:30 Club, which opened in 1980, has helped launch bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and R.E.M.The Anthem, which opened in 2017, holds up to 6,000 concertgoers.

The 9:30 Club is an internationally acclaimed music venue, the Anthem is a state-of the-art facility, the Lincoln Theater has a proud history dating back to the days of Black Broadway, and the Atlantis captures the intimacy of a small club. With this vote for unionization, the backstage workers who bring the music and stage magic to thousands of showgoers at these I.M.P.-operated music halls will now be heard and can be treated with the dignity they deserve, said Ryan Chavka, Business Agent for IATSE Local 22. We will now reach out to I.M.P. management to schedule negotiations for a first contract. We look forward to giving these production workers a voice at the bargaining table.