| Associated Press
Cleveland The black owner of 14 McDonald’s franchises in Ohio says one of the largest restaurant chains in the world has treated white owners more favorably and denied him the opportunity to buy restaurants in more affluent communities, according to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday. is. in Youngstown.
The lawsuit was filed by Herbert Washington, 69, a native of Flint and a former Michigan State star who played for the Oakland A for two seasons in the mid-1970s. between black franchises and those owned by whites.
The lawsuit said the number of black franchise owners dropped from 377 in 1998 to 186 today, while the total number of stores more than doubled to 40,000.
“By redirecting black owners to the oldest stores in the most difficult neighborhoods, McDonald’s ensured that black franchisees would never reach the level of success that white franchisees could expect,” the lawsuit reads.
“Black franchisees need to spend more to run their stores, while white franchisees will realize the full benefit of their labor,” the lawsuit said.
More than 50 former Black McDonald’s franchise owners have made similar claims to Washington in a lawsuit filed against the company in September, saying they have been forced to sell about 200 stores in the past decade.
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Washington said in a video conference on Tuesday that it has been fighting a two-tier system since it bought its first franchise in Rochester, New York, 40 years ago. Washington once owned 27 restaurants and said it had been forced by McDonald’s to sell seven stores to white owners in the past few years.
He now owns 12 restaurants in northeast Ohio and two in Pennsylvania. He blames his advocacy on behalf of Black McDonald’s owners for his problems with the company.
“McDonald’s has targeted me at extinction,” Washington said. “The bows are against me on a full-scale retaliation.”
McDonald’s issued a statement on Tuesday denying Washington’s allegations. The company said Washington was “facing business challenges” for which the company “has invested significantly in its organization” while offering it several times over several years to address these issues. “
“This situation is the result of years of mismanagement by Mr Washington, whose organization does not meet many of our standards in terms of people, operations, gas satisfaction and reinvestment,” the statement said.