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VII. Conclusion

We hope this overview has given you a better understanding of the Legal Department’s activities since the last Grand Lodge Convention.With the loss of a pro-worker White House and Congress, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and a deeply ailing economy, we are struggling to hold the line against further erosion of worker rights.We continue to see private greed triumph over public spirit; government denigrated as an instrument of betterment of all people; the “global economy” embraced and exploited by companies against their workers; the continuing hostility of employers toward unions and their continued refusal to recognize the right of workers to organize. In the Legal Department, we will continue to vigorously defend the rights of our union and its members in court, and we will continue to bring creative challenges where we are able. In the meantime, we will remind IAM members at every opportunity just how important it is that the officials we elect be dedicated to helping working families. For without workplace rights and union rights, there can be no justice or prosperity for those who work for a living.