Data transparency policy

This policy describes how Tech Workers Coalition (TWC) uses, manages and protects the data provided to us by members and prospective members. The target audience for this policy is our existing members and prospective members. While this policy is informed by relevant privacy law and best practices, it is primarily intended as a practical rather than a legal document.

This policy covers the processes and infrastructure maintained by TWC Global, including this website, which are used by many local chapters. Individual chapters are not required to abide by this policy, but as far as we know they all have similar practices.

What data we collect

Information you enter in the signup form including name, email, social links, current employer, and comments
Interactions including event registration, interacting with our emails, or joining our Slack
Input into other forms, like 1:1 conversation requests
Chapter organizers may take notes on members’ interests, engagement, etc to inform follow-ups, direct outreach and broader strategy (similar to the common union organizing practice of charting)

We do not and will not:

Sell, rent or trade member data to any outside entity
Share member data with law enforcement or government agencies voluntarily (and we will challenge requests where we reasonably can)
Share member data with any other outside entity except the service providers we need to operate (as described in this policy)

If our data is accessed or disclosed beyond the above, we will notify the affected members as quickly as we can.

Where we store data & how we protect it

We store data in two primary places:

An open source database “CRM” hosted in an EU-based VPS provider and physically hosted in the EU. This system is managed and maintained by long-time members in our Infrastructure working group. We follow industry security best practices to secure the database and server.
Member names, contact information, chapter affiliation, and some interaction data are also stored in Action Network, where we manage and send emails. Action Network is a unionized, U.S.-based nonprofit that provides digital tools for progressive organizations and unions.

Some data, in particular information from the signup form, also passes through Netlify and Slack (private channels only), for purposes of spam filtering and vetting respectively. We prefer to keep data away from SaaS companies, especially U.S.-based, and as of Summer 2026 we are exploring ways to reduce the data that flows through them.

We protect members’ data by following security best practices such as data minimization and retention policies, threat modeling, encryption, using up-to-date and popular open source systems, granular access control, and regular audits of who can access what data.

Data access is limited to trusted infrastructure admins, core members of our base building working group, and trusted chapter organizers who can access only data for their own chapter. Trusted members also gain temporary access to specific data for specific operational use such as processing 1:1 requests and vetting new members for Slack access. We periodically review and remove access from users who are no longer actively using relevant data.

How we use it

TWC Global primarily uses member data for operational purposes such as onboarding new members and communicating updates and events (such as via email newsletter). For example, information at signup might be used to identify a member with similar experience to follow-up for a 1:1 conversation, or we might target email outreach to specific event attendees or members in certain chapters.

We also sometimes look at aggregate statistics like signup rate by referral source, size of subscribed members in different chapters, email engagement rate, etc to guide strategy and assess the effectiveness of our efforts.

Similarly, individual chapters use member data to guide outreach, assess chapter capacity, and inform strategy and tactics in addition to operational uses. This is largely at the discretion of the chapter.

User controls

We only ask that members provide a name, email and social links to sign up and join our Slack, you can also give just a name and email to join our mailing list or show up to a local chapter meeting without providing any information. You can engage with TWC while sharing little to none of your identifying data. You can engage with your local chapter without touching this infrastructure (although we encourage you to at least sign up for the mailing list!)

We do not currently have a robust process for members to indicate “DELETE ALL MY DATA” or fine grained control, beyond not sharing in the first place. You can reach out at hello@techworkerscoalition.org with the email you signed up with and we will be happy to manually delete any data we recorded about you.

We are interested in improving these controls and welcome contributions.

Closing thoughts

TWC takes the stewardship of our members’ data very seriously and recognizes that organizing carries risks. We seek to minimize those risks while using data to enable effective organizing! And also while operating within our constraints as an all-volunteer, worker-led organization.