Meet Our Union Monday: Deb Roundtree

Every Monday, look forward to meeting another one of your fellow union members and hearing about how they got involved in LEO. This series is a way for us to learn about our fellow Lecs, and remind ourselves that We Are the Union!

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This week, meet Deb Roundtree, a Lecturer of Psychology on Dearborn campus who participated in Dearborn’s Contract Action Team during our contract bargaining. Read about Deb’s experience with union activism below, and let us know if you’re interested in getting involved in a union committee here!

Deb Roundtree (R)

What's your name?

Deb Roundtree

What do you teach and on which campus?

Psychology - Dearborn

How long have you taught at the University of Michigan?

16 years

What’s your favorite song to dance to?

About all I'm capable of is "Put your right foot in. Put your right foot out. Put your right foot in and shake it all about..."

What was your first experience with unions or the first time you learned what a union was?

My first personal experience was with the United Steelworkers Local 1299 where I was a union steward on the floor of the electric arc furnace department..

What union committee(s) are you on and what is your favorite part of being involved?

During bargaining, I participated on the CAT committee and really enjoyed meeting other LEOs from Dearborn and Ann Arbor who I hadn't known before.

Why should a LEO member join your committee?

All LEO members should "put their right foot in..." to see how activism can change their lives for the better.

Football or basketball?

I like both but I watch more football.

Current obsession?

Audible books so I get to read while I cook, drive, do housework, etc. I haven't figured out how to "read" audible books while grading papers yet, though!

“All LEO members should “put their right foot in...” to see how activism can change their lives for the better.”

What century would you want to live in (excluding 21st and 20th)?

I'd rather be a time traveler and visit many centuries.

Hard shell or soft shell (tacos)?

Soft

Favorite LEO slogan from this past round of bargaining (could be one we actually used, or one we considered)?

Respect the Lecs (I have box full of the buttons if anyone wants one!)

Your personal fight song--the one that gets you fired up to fight the good fights?

The Internationale

Share a guilty watch (a movie or show that’s probably no good but you enjoy anyway)

It's almost the holidays and I plan to watch The Bells of St. Mary's, Holiday Inn, White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life!

What’s a favorite book you read in the past few years, fiction or non-?

I like Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle series and Ken Follett's Kingsbridge novels.

What would you like to eat for your last meal?

Chocolate anything.

What superpower would you least like to have?

Flying around in tights

In one word, describe your experience with LEO so far.

Comradely

If you could teach something in another discipline for a semester, what would you teach?

A political science course on the mass movements in the 1960's.

What’s one pleasant surprise about your experience with our union?

Working with people who are more progressive than in my previous union experiences (USWA, UAW, and MEA)

What was your favorite question on this quiz?

All of the above