Project Snapshot
What I Found
Members couldn’t vote using the in-person ballot system due to work and family schedules, and admins were drowning in repetitive calls and outdated workflows.
What I Built
LocalLink: a unified mobile + admin ecosystem that restores voting fairness, gives members real-time benefit clarity, and frees admins to support people instead of answering the same questions all day.
My Role
Product Designer · Product Owner · Systems Architect
The Results
+90% projected increase in voting participation
40% fewer eligibility questions
60% reduction in redundant calls
The Human Problem
Content:
Unions are built on democracy and solidarity… but try telling that to a member who works nights, has two kids, and can’t magically appear at a Tuesday vote at 5 PM.
Meanwhile, members were calling admins constantly because they couldn’t see:
Their health insurance hours
Their certification deadlines
Their dues
Or even their last paystub
And admins?
They were drowning.
40–50% of their day was spent answering the same 5 questions.
Every. Single. Day.
They weren’t administrators anymore; they were human Google searches.
LocalLink set out to fix that for everyone, not just the people who could drop everything at 5 PM.
Members
Low voting access
Fragmented benefit information sources
No after-hour access
Admins
Redundant call chains
Certification chaos
Manual hours validation
Less time for actual member support
The Core Problems
Research Insights
I conducted brief interviews with members and admins, then grouped the feedback into themes using a simple affinity-mapping exercise. This made the core problems clear—voting barriers, benefit confusion, repetitive admin questions, and data bottlenecks—which directly shaped the LocalLink solution.
Members said:
“I work nights, so I can never make it to votes.”
“I have gone to appointments that were not covered because I did not know I did not have enough hours for coverage.”
Office Staff said:
“I answer the same questions all day.”
“I can only access a member’s health insurance hours by talking to the health and welfare trust staff.”
Design Goals
Equal access to voting
Real-time benefit clarity
Reduce call volume
A modern, unified system for both members and the admins who support them.
Introducing LocalLink
Mobile Voting
Members finally vote from anywhere. The breakroom, jobsite, couch, and daycare parking lot securely and anonymously.
Push notifications help increase turnout.
And no one has to fight traffic to exercise their democratic rights.
Metric:
+90% projected increase in participation
Health Hours Tracker
No more guessing. Members see their eligibility status instantly.
Admins see fewer panicked calls.
Metric:
40% reduction in eligibility calls
Certification Reminders
Certifications don’t sneak up on anyone anymore.
Members get reminders. Admins get an approval queue. Everyone wins.
Metric:
30% fewer lapsed certifications
Pension, Paystubs, and Dues
Pension contributions at a glance
Paystubs accessible anytime
Dues tracking without phone calls
No more “Can you email me my paystub?” calls.
Future Features
AI assistant for after-hours help
Out-of-Work list
Traveler job openings from other Locals
The Admin Portal
If the mobile app is the member’s guide, the admin portal is the engine behind it. Admins manage hours, certifications, paystubs, dues, and ballots here. Every update flows straight to the member app through Google Cloud services. No more scattered systems, no more constant phone calls; just clean, reliable information for everyone.
Certification Reminders
Certifications don’t sneak up on anyone anymore.
Members get reminders. Admins get an approval queue. Everyone wins.
Metric:
30% fewer lapsed certifications