SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A federal judge has denied a request by the National Labor Relations Board to reinstate eight workers fired from the Santa Barbara News-Press, according to a ruling made public yesterday.

The board claimed the reporters were wrongfully terminated for union activity and other reasons.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson said in his ruling that an injunction calling for the workers' reinstatement would prevent the newspaper from exercising what it is asserting as its First Amendment right to combat union efforts to limit its exercise of editorial discretion.

Attorney Ira Gottlieb, who represents the workers, said he was disappointed with the ruling and hoped the labor board would appeal the decision.

E-mail messages left for NLRB spokesman Tony Bisceglia and News-Press attorney Barry Cappello were not returned in time for this story.

The injunction would force the newspaper "to let go of currently hired employees and reorganize," Wilson added in his ruling.

Newsroom employees voted to form a union in September 2006. The workers and the newspaper had been fighting since then over the legitimacy of the vote, which was certified by the labor board in August.

Publisher Wendy McCaw and newspaper managers testified during a long-running court battle that concerns about biased reporting led to the dismissal of two workers in January 2007.

Six other reporters were fired a month later after protesting the previous two firings by hanging a sign over a freeway pedestrian bridge that read "Cancel Your Newspaper Today!"