PD story on BJ/Printers lawsuit

Federal judge orders Akron Beacon Journal to restore retiree health care benefits
By Pat Galbincea, The Plain Dealer
May 13, 2010, 6:54PM
AKRON, Ohio -- A U.S. District judge Thursday ordered the Akron Beacon Journal to restore health care benefits to retirees.

Judge David D. Dowd Jr. issued the preliminary injunction against the Beacon Journal and Canadian media mogul David Holmes Black to reimburse denied benefits that the retirees had to pay for while the newspaper breached promises.

The retirees, members of the Communication Workers of America formerly known as the Akron Typographical Union, had been guaranteed lifetime employment with the Beacon Journal as part of their contract in the late 1960s or early 1970s by then-owner John Knight, said Subodh Chandra, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Chandra said that starting in the 1980s, the company asked longtime employees to take an early retirement and give up their right to lifetime employment in exchange for a lifetime low-cost prescription drug plan and other health care benefits for them and their spouses.

When Holmes Black purchased the newspaper in 2006, he sent a letter on Nov. 27, 2006, saying that the company was revoking its promise and replacing the low-cost coverage with other plans that cost more.

Retirees filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Sept. 22, 2009.

Dowd ordered the Beacon Journal to immediately restore and provide all prescription drug and health insurance benefits as described in the original individual retirement benefits letters and to provide reimbursement to plaintiffs for the difference between the sums paid by individual plaintiffs and the sums the plaintiffs would have been required to pay in the earlier agreement.

"I fear this decision could be appealed by the Beacon Journal . . . which would be unconscionable," Chandra said. "It's time for them to accept responsibility and keep their promises."

Bruce Winges, editor of the Beacon Journal, said Frantz Ward LLP was the law firm that represented the newspaper. Attorneys at Frantz Ward did not return calls for comment.