The National Labor Relations Board has thrown out the Guild’s complaint that MediaNews Group acted illegally when it fired Contra Costa Times reporter Sara Steffens two days after she was elected as union chair. She claimed that she was being let go in part for her union activities, but the company said she was dismissed for business reasons as part of a round of layoffs that cost 28 people their jobs. The NRLB also threw out a similar complaint about the terminations of Rebecca Rosen-Lum and Geoff Lepper.

The ruling, first reported Monday by the Contra Costa Times, was handed down Friday by Alan B. Reichard, the NLRB’s regional director in Oakland. His decision allows the Guild until Dec. 12 to seek a review by appealing to the NLRB’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Guild indicated on its Web site that it will appeal.

Here’s E&P’s report on the ruling, the CC Times story and the Guild’s Web site.