More than a dozen working members of the Guild and Guild staffers from around the country will descend upon the East Bay this week in an attempt to organize a union at the Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune and other papers owned by MediaNews Group, according to a union blog and KCBS-AM 740. Last year, MediaNews merged the unionized Alameda Newspaper Group with the non-union Contra Costa Times. Because non-union members outnumbered union members, MediaNews canceled its union contract for ANG. Now the Guild is striking back by bringing in members from Denver and St. Paul to convince MediaNews employees to sign cards calling for an election to determine if the merged newsroom should be represented by the Guild. Sara Steffens of the Contra Costa Times and Michael Manekin of the San Mateo County Times are the leaders of the effort. Workshops are planned today and Tuesday, the union says on this blog.