By: Jarred Johnson, GM manufacturing communications
By: Jarred Johnson, GM manufacturing communications
March 21 is celebrated at “Rosie the Riveter Day” in the U.S. During World War II, Rosie’s image became a national symbol of resilience—women stepping into industrial roles while men served overseas. At GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee manufacturing plant that same spirit lives on in apprentice Rachel Dale. After a year marked by heartbreaking loss, she stepped into the skilled trades to build a future for her three children.
Strength Forged by Loss
Hard work and perseverance shaped Rachel Dale’s life from the start. Raised by a single mother in Columbia, Tennessee, she joined GM as a temporary employee in 2016 and quickly gravitated toward the skilled trades.
“The skilled trades showed up to diagnose problems at the plant,” Rachel said. “I wanted to be someone like that who people could look to. I wanted people to say, ‘Ask Rachel.’”
In 2019, she set her sights on the skilled trades apprenticeship program. The UAW-GM apprenticeship program is one pillar of GM’s comprehensive approach to workforce development, enabling employees to accelerate learning through new technologies and on-the-job training.
Rachel’s husband, mother, and father-in-law – a former Spring Hill electrician –encouraged her to join the program.
Rachel began with the Skilled Trades Apprenticeship Readiness Certificate (STARC), strengthening her math and technical foundations while navigating a high-risk pregnancy and caring for her newborn daughter. Then tragedy struck: in the year leading up to her apprenticeship acceptance, both her husband and father-in-law passed away.
When Rachel finally signed her apprenticeship papers, she cried, holding the joy of achieving her goal in one hand and the ache of those missing in the other. Like Rosie the Riveter, she stepped into a vacant role, carrying on for more than just herself.
The Journey to Journeyperson
Once accepted, Rachel rotated every six months through different areas of the Spring Hill complex, bouncing from the paint shop to injection- molding to the propulsion plant, learning machine repair from experienced journeymen.
She will graduate next year as a machine repair journeyperson, but she already sees how far she’s come. Three years in, she confidently diagnoses problems on her own. On a recent cold morning in the Spring Hill propulsion plant, she stood elbow-deep in a machine that takes the first heavy cuts on parts before they go to finishing, dismantling and rebuilding it piece by piece.
Building More Than Machines
The skills Rachel has gained extend far beyond GM Spring Hill. At home, she has repaired her hot water heater, washer, and A/C. The apprenticeship has given her a long-term career path and greater financial stability to support her family.
“I hope I can show my kids that no matter what happens, you can continue to grow,” Rachel said.
Her oldest son is a welder at a fencing company. Her middle son is dual enrolled in high school and the local community college. Her daughter wanders the house in a princess gown with a screwdriver, proudly calling herself a “fixer girl like mommy.” Rachel has become the kind of role model she once looked up to—like her mother, her husband, her father-in-law, and everyone who has helped with her on-the-job training.
Rosie the Riveter symbolized courage, competence, and the belief that women could thrive in fields once closed to them. Rachel embodies something equally powerful: the bravery to rebuild, keep learning and lift others along the way.
She’s a modern-day Rosie, right here at GM.
March 21 is celebrated at “Rosie the Riveter Day” in the U.S. During World War II, Rosie’s image became a national symbol of resilience – women stepping into industrial roles while men served overseas. At GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee manufacturing plant that same spirit lives on in apprentice Rachel Dale. After a year marked by heartbreaking loss, she stepped into the skilled trades to build a future for her three children.
Strength Forged by Loss
Hard work and perseverance shaped Rachel Dale’s life from the start. Raised by a single mother in Columbia, Tennessee, she joined GM as a temporary employee in 2016 and quickly gravitated toward the skilled trades.
“The skilled trades showed up to diagnose problems at the plant,” Rachel said. “I wanted to be someone like that who people could look to. I wanted people to say, ‘Ask Rachel.’”
In 2019, she set her sights on the skilled trades apprenticeship program. The UAW-GM apprenticeship program is one pillar of GM’s comprehensive approach to workforce development, enabling employees to accelerate learning through new technologies and on-the-job training.
Rachel’s husband, mother, and father-in-law – a former Spring Hill electrician – encouraged her to join the program.
Rachel began with the Skilled Trades Apprenticeship Readiness Certificate (STARC), strengthening her math and technical foundations while navigating a high-risk pregnancy and caring for her newborn daughter. Then tragedy struck: in the year leading up to her apprenticeship acceptance, both her husband and father-in-law passed away.
When Rachel finally signed her apprenticeship papers, she cried, holding the joy of achieving her goal in one hand and the ache of those missing in the other. Like Rosie the Riveter, she stepped into a vacant role, carrying on for more than just herself.
The Journey to Journeyperson
Once accepted, Rachel rotated every six months through different areas of the Spring Hill complex, bouncing from the paint shop to injection- molding to the propulsion plant, learning machine repair from experienced journeymen.
She will graduate next year as a machine repair journeyperson, but she already sees how far she’s come. Three years in, she confidently diagnoses problems on her own. On a recent cold morning in the Spring Hill propulsion plant, she stood elbow-deep in a machine that takes the first heavy cuts on parts before they go to finishing, dismantling and rebuilding it piece by piece.
Building More Than Machines
The skills Rachel has gained extend far beyond GM Spring Hill. At home, she has repaired her hot water heater, washer, and A/C. The apprenticeship has given her a long-term career path and greater financial stability to support her family.
“I hope I can show my kids that no matter what happens, you can continue to grow,” Rachel said.
Her oldest son is a welder at a fencing company. Her middle son is dual enrolled in high school and the local community college. Her daughter wanders the house in a princess gown with a screwdriver, proudly calling herself a “fixer girl like mommy.” Rachel has become the kind of role model she once looked up to – like her mother, her husband, her father-in-law, and everyone who has helped with her on-the-job training.
Rosie the Riveter symbolized courage, competence, and the belief that women could thrive in fields once closed to them. Rachel embodies something equally powerful: the bravery to rebuild, keep learning and lift others along the way.
She’s a modern-day Rosie, right here at GM.