diff --git a/tests/funnel_test_util.py b/tests/funnel_test_util.py
index ada40d6..187053f 100644
--- a/tests/funnel_test_util.py
+++ b/tests/funnel_test_util.py
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ def config_seconds(sec):
 
 
 def check_version(cmd, version_str):
-    p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT)
+    p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,
+                         universal_newlines=True)
     stdout, stderr = p.communicate()
     return version_str in stdout