How to choose union software: 12 questions to ask every vendor
· 7 min read
Short answerChoose union software by starting with the work, not the features. Write down the three workflows that hurt most today, ask every vendor the same twelve questions about your data, your workflows and their support, and insist on a demo that uses your own scenarios before you compare written quotes.
Before you talk to vendors
Spend an hour with the people who do the work. List the three workflows that cost the most time or cause the most mistakes, the systems and spreadsheets you use today, and who needs to see what. This becomes your shortlist test.
The 12 questions
Ask every vendor the same questions, in writing:
- Was this built for unions, and which unions like ours use it today?
- How do you model our structure: locals, units, classifications, employers?
- How do you handle our dues rules, remittance and per capita?
- How are grievance steps and time limits set up and enforced?
- Do you support dispatch or training, if we need them?
- What can members do themselves, on the web and on a phone?
- How do you move our existing data in, and who does the work?
- Where is our data hosted, and can we export all of it at any time?
- What security certifications and audits do you have?
- Who supports us, when, and do they understand union work?
- What does year one cost in total, and what does each year after cost?
- What happens to our system if your company is sold?
Red flags
Be careful if a vendor:
- Won’t demo with your own scenarios.
- Can’t name unions like yours that use the product today.
- Treats migration as your problem.
- Won’t put the full cost in writing.
- Can’t explain how you would leave and take your data.
Running the evaluation
Shortlist two or three vendors. Give each the same scripted demo built from your three workflows. Score the demos together with the staff who will use the system every day, then check references with a union of similar size and type.
Plan the switch for a quieter period, not your convention or bargaining season, and keep the old system read-only until reconciliation is done.
Why the last question matters
Union software is a ten-year decision, and the market is consolidating. Ask who owns the vendor and what they do with companies they buy. UnionOS is part of Valsoft, which buys software companies to hold for the long term and keeps their teams and products in place.