By Taylor Dobbs, News Staff

Chartwells employees at Northeastern voted 299 to 44 today to join the UNITE HERE! Local 26 union, with the hopes of getting collective bargaining benefits and advocacy on their behalf, workers said.

The workers gained support since they came out with public claims of mistreatment by managers in the workplace during a March 14 rally. Students, faculty and staff rallied supported the workers, organizing a March 22 speak out event with the workers, where hundreds of students heard workers tell stories of hardships in the workplace.

Workers and students celebrated outside International Village (INV) after the results were announced during a vote count in Stetson West’s Xhibition Kitchen. Johanny Santana, who has worked for Chartwells at INV for nearly four years, said the community’s support exceeded workers’ expectations.

Amid chants of “We are the union, the mighty, mighty union,” from the crowd of around 50, Santana said tonight’s celebration came after weeks of uncertainty.

“The last couple of weeks were kind of tense, people were kind of nervous – ‘are we going to do this?’ – and that’s where the support came from the students, staff, the organizers, all of us getting together,” she said.

Santana said the celebration wouldn’t stop tonight.

“This is history to us,” she said, “This is what we wanted.”