Whatever happened to Students First?

Joseph Ocol just wanted to be with his students. So when the Chicago Teachers Union had a one-day strike on April 1, closing hundreds of schools, Ocol was one of the few teachers that broke picket lines and went to work.

Of course, the union wasn’t happy about that. Ocol says other union members have been bullying him, telling him to go work for a public charter school instead of Chicago Public Schools.

DNAinfo Chicago’s Andrea Watson reports that, now, the union is trying to kick Ocol out or force him to give his pay from April 1 to the union. If Ocol is kicked out, he’ll still have to pay union dues but won’t be able to vote as a union member.

The union scheduled a hearing for June 6 to let Ocol explain why he shouldn’t have to give up his pay from April 1. But Ocol won’t be there. He’ll be at his school, Earle STEM Academy, practicing with his student chess team. “I have always promised the kids that I shall always try to be with them after school even if I do not get paid,” Ocol said in a letter he shared with Watson.