Workers at a Burgerville in Southeast Portland overwhelmingly approved the formation of a federally-recognized union, making them the first to do so since a fast-food labor fight erupted nationally five years ago.

Employees of the chain's Southeast 92nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard location voted 18-4 in favor. Three workers abstained from voting. Workers cast ballots at the restaurant during a two-day election, which ended Monday night.

The results, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, will now legally require Burgerville to negotiate with the store's workers, who have pushed for a wage increase, affordable health care and other benefits.

"A lot of us are poor, hungry and even homeless," Mark Medina, a store employee and union organizer, told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday. "We hope this will be the beginning of the end to poverty wages."

Beth Brewer, a Burgerville spokeswoman, said the company supports the workers' decision.

"We are proud of our relationship with our coworkers, and we will continue to provide a fair, postive work environment for all," she said in a statement.

The victory comes amid growing national efforts to increase the minimum wage of fast-food workers to $15 an hour, which first began in 2012.

It also marks the biggest win in a two-year campaign by Burgerville workers and labor activists — who are working independently of the national "Fight For 15" campaign — to compel the regional chain to come to the bargaining table.

In April 2016, members of the Industrial Workers of the World — better known as the Wobblies — helped launch the Burgerville Workers Union. Emmett Schlenz, a campaign spokesman, said six of the company's 42 locations now have publicly active unions that are led by workers. However, without a formal election administered by the National Labor Relations Board, the company has not had to negotiate with them.

Several shops in the Portland area held walkouts and a three-day strike in February. Last week, workers at a second Burgerville location announced they had also filed for a federal union election.

Activists and supporters, meanwhile, said they will continue a Burgerville boycott campaign that's garnered the backing of multiple labor unions as well as some progressive civic leaders and elected officials.

The momentum building locally may galvanize those organizing in other parts of the country, said Wilma Liebman, a former chair of the National Labor Relations Board under President Obama and now a law professor at New York University.

"Fast food workers in other locations could be encouraged or energized by it," she told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Known for its anti-capitalist leanings and focus on low-skilled laborers, the Industrial Workers of the World has previously tried to organize workers at Starbucks and Jimmy John's locations throughout the country, with limited success.

Burgerville, owned by Holland Inc., has about 1,500 employees in Oregon and southern Washington, the company said.

Everton Bailey Jr. of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaugh