News of Composing retirees' health care lawsuit victory spreads to Canada

Today's Toronto Globe and Mail has a lengthy story on the BJ printers' lawsuit against the Beacon Journal over health care changes.

The story by Globe and Mail staffer Paul Waldie includes these paragraphs:

-- “I would say this was just an awful thing to do to retired people,” Ms. White said from her home in Venice, Fla. “We didn’t have a problem until Black took over," paying $165 million for the Beacon Journal.

-- The outcome of this case has the potential to cost millions for Black Press, a growing media enterprise with more than 150 publications across Canada and the U.S.

-- David Black, CEO of the company bearing his name, said: “Management thought that switching to generic drugs rather than brand-name drugs would be one way to continue retiree medical coverage while controlling costs somewhat."

-- Judge David Dowd (ruled that) the benefits had “vested,” meaning they could not be changed. He ordered the Journal to reinstate the benefits pending a final outcome at trial.

Click on the headline to read the Globe and Mail story and see a photo of Dave and Gina White and their dog in their Venice, Florida, home.

Jeff Sallot, former BJ staffer, had a long reporting career at the Globe and Mail before he joined the Journalism and Communication faculty at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, in 2007.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Not every prescription has a generic version in the USA. In my case, three of my eight have no generic equivalent in the USA (some do through Canadian pharmacies), so I would be stuck for the full price of those brand-name drugs once I'm in the donut hole if I did not switch to Canadian pharmacies, all at my cost.