The small congregation room of Light Street Presbyterian Church erupted in cheers, Thursday night, as members of the United Worker’s Association celebrated a victory in their three year struggle for living wages.

According to a UWA press release, the Maryland Stadium Authority voted 5-2 earlier that day to “re-bid the current cleaning contract and to include living wages in the request for proposals.”

After half an hour the celebration was moved outside to the backyard of the church where those in attendance held a candlelight vigil that was initially intended to mark the beginning of the hunger strike.

“Today we made history, this is another shot heard around the world,” said UWA member Ernest “Bear” Lindsay.

Another prominent UWA member, Marilyn Hunter, expressed similar sentiments. She said that after three years of struggle and two years of empty commitments from Orioles owner Peter Angelos, “We’ve done something that has never been done before.”

Cheers of “thank you, we won” could be heard all around the church, and after a few minutes the group began singing “This little light of mine” with one localized verse ending with “all over Baltimore, I’m going to let it shine!”

“We thank you for your support, we thank you for your love, we thank you for your strength,” Lindsay said to the crowd of people circled around him with candles.

“This shows the next generation that things can be done without violence and without being ignorant,” said Lindsay after the event, adding that all of their success came from God and family.

Reverend Roger Scott Powers, the pastor for Light Street Church said he was willing to provide boarding for the hunger-strikers overnight for the entire duration of the strike.

“I’m thrilled. We were going to host the hunger strikers all night but it didn’t have to go that far,” said Powers.

Members of the UWA as well as the Stadium Worker Allies Group (SWAG), an auxiliary support organization, wore yellow shirts that read “Human rights. Here. Now! Break the chains of poverty.”

“The purpose of SWAG is to work in solidarity with the UWA,” said SWAG member Jonathan Dudley, who described the group as a collective of people who have allied themselves with the UWA and their movement.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland also attended the event to show their support. They released a statement that read in part: “Maryland stadium cleaners are among the millions of ‘forgotten workers’ in America who are denied the respect accorded most other workers. The struggle for the UWA stadium cleaners is an inspiration for all workers, just as their victory is an advance for all working families.”

With support from Governor Martin O’Malley and increased media attention, the Stadium Authority agreed to finally pay its temporary employees living wages. That means a pay jump to $11.30 an hour for the stadium cleaners at Camden Yards.

There are concerns however that jobs may become more competitive, making it harder for those currently working on a temporary, non-contractual, basis.

The UWA states that this victory is not the end though, and that they will continue to take more steps to champion human rights and work toward ending poverty. During the vigil, many comparisons were drawn between this movement and the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

UWA and other temporary workers will have to wait until next spring when the Stadium Authority’s decision to pay living wages takes effect.