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PolitiFact Wisconsin: Mahlon Mitchell on Act 10

Posted at 7:04 PM, Mar 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-08 20:04:54-05

Democrats lining up to take on Gov. Scott Walker this year are trying to tout their anti Act 10 credentials.

PolitiFact Wisconsin looks at one claim to see how it fares with the Truth-O-Meter.

It's been nearly seven years since huge crowds packed the state capital and Walker signed his landmark legislation.

Act 10 is still a hotly debated political issue among Democratic candidates like Mahlon Mitchell, who wants to unseat Walker.

"Mahlon Mitchell says essentially that from the beginning, he opposed Act 10, the 2011 law that curbs collective bargaining power from most public employees," said Tom Kertscher with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

PolitiFact Wisconsin says, keep in mind, Act 10 limited collective bargaining for public employee unions across the state, but exempted police and firefighters unions from the changes.

"Mahlon Mitchell is the President of the state firefighters union," said Kerscher.

PolitiFact Wisconsin points out Mahlon's union issued a statement saying they were pleased Walker did not include firefighters in the new law and they were looking forward to working with Walker on economic issues facing the state.

But soon after, Mitchell became a prominent opponent in the Madison protests.

"There's a little bit of revisionist history here," said Kertscher. "Mitchell certainly was one of the most outspoken critics of act 10 eventually, but initially he did not criticize the law because it does exempt firefighters.

PolitiFact Wisconsin rated Mitchell's claim Mostly False.