One big organizing summit

From Media News Monitor: More than a dozen working members and Guild staff from around the country will gather in Oakland next week for a novel mobilization project spearheaded by Eric Geist, organizing director at The Newspaper Guild-CWA sector headquarters in Washington, D.C. Geist will join John Dugan, head of organizing for the Communications Workers of America District 9, in leading a series of mobilization workshops and field projects focusing on MediaNews Group, the nation's fourth largest news chain.

Delegates from the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Denver Post will join representatives of Guild locals and field staff from the Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco locals. The Media Workers Guild is playing host for the first-time event, being held at the union-represented Courtyard Marriott Hotel in downtown Oakland. Much of the focus will be on the "One Big BANG: One Guild Universe" campaign led by Sara Steffens of the Contra Costa Times and Michael Manekin of the San Mateo County Times. They are recently named co-chairs of an organizing committee building a new bargaining unit among editorial employees of the Bay Area News Group-East Bay.

Members of the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom — key early participants n the BANG organizing along with the San Jose Mercury News staff — also are joining in the sessions, including two full days of seminars followed by meetings and one-on-one visits with BANG employees.