United Steelworkers of America v. Weber

443 U.S. 193 (1979), held that employees and unions could conduct voluntary training programs designed to improve skills of minority employees even if qualified white employees were excluded provided that the programs were “temporary,” did not “trammel” white interests, and were intended to overcome “manifest racial imbalance.” The case grew out of a class-action suit filed in district court by a white production worker who alleged that black employees were being promoted in preference to white employees. The Court stressed the voluntary nature of the company's programs and the need to redress past racial imbalances.