McDonald's recognizes CBS News Miami's Eliott Rodriguez with "In the Crew" varsity jacket
MIAMI — Have you ever worked at McDonald's? According to the fast food giant, 1 in 8 Americans have worked at one of its thousands of locations across the U.S. at some point in their careers.
If you have, then you and CBS News Miami's evening anchor Eliott Rodriguez share something in common.
On Wednesday, McDonald's presented a 1 in 8 "In the Crew" varsity jacket to Rodriguez for his special connection to the franchise.
Here's what Eliott had to say about working at the McDonald's located at 4180 SW 8th St. in Miami, as a 15-year-old:
"In the summer of 1971, I was a teenager with a brand-new driver's license. I desperately wanted to replace my Schwinn Stingray bicycle—my main mode of transportation at the time—with a car to show off at school in the fall. With that in mind, I went in search of a part-time job.
I found one at McDonald's, and it helped shape me into the man I am today.
I remember visiting my neighborhood McDonald's on Coral Way and Southwest 34th Street in Miami. I filled out my application in the restaurant. A few days later, I got a callback. Yes, I was told, I had a job, but it wouldn't be at that McDonald's, it would be at a brand new McDonald's on LeJeune Road near Southwest 8th Street.
I remember training at various McDonald's with other new employees while the new restaurant on LeJeune Road was being completed. We were first trained on making French fries and milkshakes. Next, I learned how to dress hamburgers with ketchup, mustard and pickles. Big Macs had a special sauce. Filet-o-fish sandwiches required tartar sauce and a slice of cheese. Egg McMuffins were my specialty. I even made them at home for my family.
I never got to work the register, but I did learn to cook burgers. "Cheese, 12 burgers!" I remember yelling out. "Cheese six!" was often the response, meaning put cheese on six of the burgers and no cheese on the other six. One valuable lesson I learned was never to smash burgers while they're cooking. Smashing them with a spatula results in a dry burger and nobody wants that. We only flipped them one time, turning them over when they were almost done. Every burger had onions which meant my fingers smelled like onions for the rest of the day.
I would ride my bike from my family's home in Miami's Coral Gate neighborhood to McDonald's. I'd lock up the bike in the rear of the restaurant and ride back home when my shift was over.
My paycheck wasn't very big back then (the minimum wage was less than two dollars an hour) but the cost of living wasn't as high as it is now. Gas was 36 cents a gallon, and the new car I desired –a 1972 Toyota Carollo—was only $2,600.
Not only did I learn the value of hard work at McDonald's, but I also made great friends. I worked with a diverse crew of teenagers from all sectors of Miami.
Together, we learned the value of teamwork, customer service, and the importance of showing up on time and ready to go to work. These are skills I have carried with me many years after my McDonald's experience. I know that times have changed. Everything, it seems, is more expensive. Teenagers spend more on clothes, cell phones, and designer sneakers. How they can do it without working part time jobs remains a mystery to me. It also makes me sad that they may not be learning the valuable lessons I learned during my McDonald's days in the summer of 1971."
On Wednesday afternoon, owner-operators Emilio and Hilda Cabrera — who are company founders — along with Anthony and Beatriz Cabrera, and Bryan Bentancourt and Stefanie Cabrera-Bentancourt, joined Eliott at the station for the small but intimate ceremony.
Eliott says that it was at that McDonald's where he learned the work ethic that propelled him to a successful career in the hyper-competitive world of news.
Rodriguez, a veteran reporter and anchor with over 40 years of experience in Miami and Philadelphia, has been named Best Anchor by New Times and one of South Florida's Sharp Dressed Men by Ocean Drive Magazine. He is also a graduate of the University of Miami, a father of four daughters, and an avid tennis player.