He did it for the children.
Via CBS Chicago:
He crossed the line – the CPS teachers’ one-day strike — out of his love for the classroom.
Joseph Ocol stuck with his kids and brought home a chess championship.
Tonight, he’s expelled from the union and wonders if he’ll even have a job.
CBS 2’s Brad Edwards reports.
The union’s decision came via certified mail, in a letter signed by Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis.
“I’m expelled from the union,” Ocol explains.
He was kicked out for skipping the union’s “day of action,” which was a one-day strike the CTU organized in protest against the Chicago Public Schools administration and contract negotiations.
Ocol skipped to coach his chess team. Soon after, his Englewood girls won the national championship. It’s been noted on the Congressional record and by the mayor and city council
“It’s all a matter of the principles we take in our lives,” Ocol says. “There’s a chance I could lose my job.”
The lawyer for the CTU disagrees that Ocol is at risk of losing his job. “Expulsion from the Union does not result in the loss of any employment benefits or rights, only membership in the Union. It cannot affect his standing as a teacher. He cannot be fired because of it,” Robert Bloch tells CBS 2.
HT: Marathon Pundit