Meet Our Union Monday: Stephanie Vidaillet Gelderloos

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 Stephanie Vidaillet Gelderloos, a Lecturer of English on Flint campus. Stephanie is LEO’s Flint Campus Chair (sitting on the Union Council), a member of the LEO One University Council, and a member of the Solidarity, Political Action, and Community Engagement Committee (SPACE). Read about Stephanie’s experience with union activism below, and let us know if you’re interested in getting involved in a union committee here!

Flint Campus Chair and Lecturer of English Stephanie addresses a University Board of Regents meeting in June 2018.

What's your name?

Stephanie Vidaillet Gelderloos

What do you teach and on which campus?

English in Flint

How long have you taught at the University of Michigan?

6 years

What’s your favorite song to dance to?

Let it Rain over Me by Marc Anthony and Pitbull

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

Like most Detroiters of my generation, my father worked in the auto industry and was a member of the UAW. I can't remember a time when I didn't know the importance of unions. I think my first word might have been solidarity.

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

I am on the 1U committee, the SPACE committee, and I'm on the UC as the representative for Flint. I love working with a group of dedicated, like-minded people who work to improve the lives of our members and our students.

“Like most Detroiters of my generation, my father worked in the auto industry and was a member of the UAW. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know the importance of unions. I think my first word might have been solidarity. ”

— Stephanie Vidaillet Gelderloos, LEO Flint Campus Chair

Why should a LEO member join your committee?

Because being on a SPACE committee just sounds really cool. And it gives you an opportunity to work for much needed social change, both locally and nationally.

Football or basketball?

SOCCER!

Current obsession?

Versailles (awesome t.v. show) and the triple berry oat smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe

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

If I had to live before the 20th century, I'd have to be one of the few wealthy/nobility because before unions they were the only ones who had any fun. Oh, and I'd have to be a man too. All those things considered, I'd choose Athens in the classical era, 5th century B.C.

“If I had to live before the 20th century, I’d have to be one of the few wealthy/nobility because before unions they were the only ones who had any fun. Oh, and I’d have to be a man too. All those things considered, I’d choose Athens in the classical era, 5th century B.C.”

— Stephanie Vidaillet Gelderloos

Hard shell or soft shell (tacos)?

Soft corn

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

Those who write the checks, must respect the lecs!

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

Killing in the Name of by Rage Against the Machine

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

The Nanny

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

It's a tie- Between the World and Me by Ta Nehisi Coates, and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

What would you like to eat for your last meal?

Paella and plátanos (maduros)

What superpower would you least like to have?

I would not want to be able to see into the future. I think it would make me lazy and depressed, with nothing to fight for and no hope that I could change things.

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

Rewarding

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

Spanish or Dutch

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

The genuine cameraderie among members across all 3 campuses

What was your favorite question on this quiz?

in which century I'd like to live