By Jorge Casuso

The prospective buyers of the Miramar Sheraton Hotel agreed Thursday to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the hotel's workers, who will be retained without a probation period or the re-verification of their work documents, according to union organizers.

However, Marist, Wolff & Co. -- which has reached an agreement to buy the 302-room luxury hotel from Fujita USA Corp. -- has not agreed to take a neutral stance on the workers' campaign to remain unionized, according to a union representative who met with the perspective buyers on Thursday.

"They have committed to do some very significant things," said Kurt Peterson, lead organizer for the local Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union. "Our overall impression is that this company truly wants to do right by their employees. We're going to take them at their word."

The hotel workers have been embroiled in a four-year battle with the current hotel management to retain the union. A vote on the union status is looming after the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a previous election to decertify the union shop was unfair. The current management has been accused of intimidating workers during the election campaign.

"The decertification election will occur," Peterson said, "but if the company maintains neutrality we believe we can win." However, Peterson said, it will be hard for the workers to "erase four years of being told the union is bad."

Peterson credits the support of several council members, as well members of the community, for urging Marist, Wolff & Co. to retain the current workers, who feared losing their jobs with the change of ownership.

"Numerous community leaders have asked them to do the right thing, and they're responding," Peterson said.