ONLINE: How Act 10 Has Changed Wisconsin Politics

media release: On Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m., reporters Scott Girard and Briana Reilly will host a virtual Cap Times Talk about the impact of Act 10 with University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism Professor Michael Wagner.

We will broadcast this event live on Facebook.

Cap Times members will have the exclusive option to watch the event live on Zoom and pose questions to Wagner. Already a member? Check your email for the registration link. Not a member? Become one at membership.captimes.com.

ABOUT ACT 10:

Ten years ago, former Gov. Scott Walker dropped a political bombshell with the introduction of what would eventually become Act 10, legislation that gutted most public-sector employee unions. The move sparked protests from tens of thousands of people, led to numerous lawsuits and an unsuccessful effort to recall Walker from office.

A decade later, the law is still on the books and the Wisconsin political landscape is far different. Public sector unions were key supporters of Democratic Party campaigns for generations but no longer have the clout they once did. More broadly, the bitter fights over the legislation, which dragged on for years in court, ushered in an era of combative politics that still remains.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

A professor in UW-Madison's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Wagner studies how political attitudes and behaviors are affected by the ways in which information flows across the state. Girard is the Cap Times' K-12 schools reporter and Reilly is its state government reporter.