Former pro-baseball player Herb Washington, who built the largest Black-owned McDonald’s franchise operation in the nation, filed a civil rights suit Tuesday against the fast-food giant.
Herb Washington, who played for the Oakland Athletics in the 1970s and went on to build the biggest Black-owned McDonald's franchise operation in the US, is now suing the.
Royals Rumblings - News for February 17, 2021
Share this story
Minda Haas Kuhlmann
Many Royals fans heard of Angel Zerpa for the first time when he was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft a few months ago. Alec Lewis at The Athletic has more on Zerpa:
The following year, when Zerpa was assigned to short-season Burlington in 2019, Martinez saw for himself. There was something about Zerpa’s demeanor, a fierceness to it, an “I want to make people know me” vibe, Martinez said. Not to mention, Zerpa’s velocity had crept up from the upper-80s at signing to the mid-90s. And the fastball was flying past hitters on both sides of the plate.
erunyan@tribtoday.com
YOUNGSTOWN Herb Washington, who has operated McDonald’s restaurants for 40 years in New York, Ohio and western Pennsylvania, on Tuesday sued McDonald’s USA, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation against him as a black franchisee.
The civil rights lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court and is assigned to Judge Benita Pearson.
The 50-page complaint details his long history with the company, purchase of restaurants in the Rochester, N.Y., Youngstown and Cleveland areas and decline from once owning 27 restaurants to now owning 14.
Washington, who lives in Mahoning County, sued McDonald’s, “the world’s largest franchisor” to “hold it accountable” for its actions toward black franchisees, the suit states.
During a video news conference on Tuesday, Washington said he had been fighting a two-tiered system since he bought his first franchise in Rochester, New York, 40 years ago. Washington at one point owned 27 restaurants and said he was forced by McDonald s to sell seven stores over the last several years to white owners.
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 troubles with the company.
“McDonald s has targeted me for extinction,” Washington said. “The arches are in full-scale retaliation mode against me.”
McDonald s issued a statement on Tuesday denying Washington s assertions. The company said Washington is “facing business challenges for which the company has “invested significantly in his organization while offering him ”multiple opportunities over several years to address these issues.