​COCAL XV Conference 2024
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Every other year, COCAL offers an international conference that welcomes approximately 300 delegates from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. The fifteenth COCAL Conference (COCAL XV) will be held August 7-10, 2024, in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada and is being organized by post-secondary unions and activists from across these countries. This conference will be an excellent opportunity to interact with a diverse group of contingent/adjunct/precarious higher education faculty and staff from across the Americas.

​Click here for registration details.

​Translation will be provided in English, Spanish, French, American Sign-Language, French Sign-Language, and Spanish sign-language during the webinar. Please make your language selection when registering.

Past Events

​COCAL XIV Conference 2022
Querétaro City, México

COCAL XIV was postponed until Summer 2021. The fourteenth COCAL Conference (COCAL XIV) was held August 6-8, 2022 in Querétaro City, México. 

Please check back soon for pictures and more details.

Jointly organized by: COCAL-México (coordinated by María Teresa Lechuga and Arturo Ramos) & SUPAUAQ (Union of Academic Personnel of UAQ University, the Secretary General / President of which is Dr. Ricardo Chaparro)

​COCAL Webinar 2020

Due to the CORONA Virus, the COCAL XIV conference held in Querétaro, Mexico, was postponed until Summer 2022. Instead, COCAL offered this 2020 webinar on September 26, with speakers from Mexico, Canada, Quebec, and the U.S.

Theme: "An Over-View of Higher Education and Academic Labor in Light of the the COVID Pandemic and the Global Economic Crisis"

​Keynote Speakers

Dr. Sarika Bose

• Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, Department of English, Vancouver Campus.· Areas of specialization: literature, literary creation, theatre.
• Expertise: Victorian theatre, British culture.
• Chair of the Contract Academic Staff Committee of the University of British Columbia Faculty Association (UBCFA).
• Chair of the 2020-2021 Contract Academic Staff Committee of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (ACPPU), a federation of associations and unions representing more than 70,000 higher education workers.

Sylvain Marois, Ph.D. student in industrial relations

• Lecturer in the Department of Literature, Theatre and Cinema, Laval University.
• Researcher in university trade unionism.
• Assistant Professor in the Department of Literature.
• Labour Relations Officer at the Union of Lecturers at Laval University (SCCCUL).
• Former vice-president (2012-2018) of the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ-CSN), a federation of 101 unions and represents more than 30,000 teachers. FNEEQ participates in various international coalitions and confederations in which Mr. Marois has been actively involved in recent years, including as a member of the COCAL Advisory Committee.

Dr. Vincent Tirelli

• Assistant Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York (CUNY)
• Mr. Tirelli received his Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center in 2007, specializing in American politics and political theory. His thesis is entitled "The Invisible Faculty Fight Back: Contingent Academic Labor and the Political Economy of the Corporate University.".
• He was a member of the Executive Board of the Professional Staff Congress, the CUNY teachers and staff union affiliated with the American Federation ofTeachers (PSC-AFT)..
• Mr. Tirelli is a founding member of COCAL and a member of its International Advisory Committee.

Dr. Axel Didriksson

• Researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in the "Institute for Research on Universities and Education"(Instituto de Investigaciones sobre la Universidad y la Educacion [IISUE]) and member of the "National System of Researchers" (SistemaNacional deInvestigadores [SNI]), Level III. l’Institut de recherche sur les universités et l’éducation » (
• An expert in research fields such as the political economy of knowledge, public education policies in Mexico and the prospects of higher education, he has produced numerous publications that have been translated into several languages.
• Mr. Didriksson has received fellowships from 15 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America, conducting comparative studies on universities.
• He has led UNESCO's collective projects and was president of the Global Network of Universities for Innovation, representing Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Dr. Didriksson was awarded the "National University Award 2019" in the field of social research sciences socials by UNAM.

"Towards COCAL 2021 - Querétaro, Mexico" began with brief greetings and words of welcome from our special guests:

• Ms Teresa Garcia Gasca, Dean of the Universidad Aut-noma de Querétaro (UAQ)
• Mr. Ricardo ChaparroSanchez, Secretary General of SUPAUAQ, the host union of COCAL 2021. Sindicato Único del Personal Académico de la Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro
• Bertha G. Rodroguez Samano, chemist. Secretary-General of the Asociacion Autonoma del Personal Académico de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (AAPAUNAM).
• Aguston Rodriguez Fuentes ,engineer. Secretary-General of the Sindicato de Trabajadores of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (STUNAM).

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Join the participants from the tenth annual Coalition on Contingent Academic Labor (COCAL X) who have signed a political declaration that brings attention to the pernicious effects of neoliberal policies on education. It calls for "the expansion of social and democratic rights in education and in welfare for all humans, within and beyond our national borders.".

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​COCAL XIII Conference 2018
San Jose, California, United States

• Conference Program

More Photos on FaceBook

COCAL XII (2016) - Edmonton
Empowering Precarious Academic Workers in Perilous Times

• Conference Program

COCAL XI (2014) - New York City
Shaping an Equitable & Democratic Future For Higher Education— The Way Forward

• Conference Program

COCAL X (2012) - Mexico City

• Conference Program

COCAL IX (2010) - Quebec City

• Conference Program

COCAL VIII (2008) - San Diego​

COCAL VII (2006) - Vancouver ​

COCAL VI (2004) - Chicago​

​COCAL V (2002) - Montreal

• Conference Program

COCAL IV (2001) - San Jose​

COCAL III (1999) - Boston

2nd National Conference (1998) - New York​

1st National Conference (1996) - Washington, D.C.​

Events:

​Campus Equity Week/ Fair Employment Week
October 27-November 2, 2013

Campus Equity Week (USA)/Fair Employment Week (Canada) was October 27-November 2, 2013. Activists on campuses across Canada and the United States organized events to bring attention to the issues involved in the employment of contingent faculty and instructors in institutions of higher education. FEW/CEW aimed to bring more public awareness to working conditions faced by many contingent faculty: low wages and benefits, lack of academic freedom, unpredictability of assignments, and arbitrary treatment.

Political Action

Political Declaration of COCAL X