adopted its provisions, and no other states were considering its adoption. FURTHER READINGS Dively, Mary Jo Howard. 2000. “The New Laws that Will Enable Electronic Contracting: A Survey of the Electronic Contracting Rules in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the Uniform Computer Informa- tion Transactions Act.” Duquesne Law Review 38 (winter). National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. 2002. Uniform Laws Annotated: Preface to Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group. Towle, Holly. 2000. “Mass Market Transactions in the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act.” Duquesne Law Review 38 (winter). CROSS REFERENCES Commerce, Electronic; Contracts. UNIFORM CONSUMER CREDIT CODE The Uniform Consumer Credit Code (UCCC) is a model statute that provides standards for credit transactions entered into by individuals who purchase, use, maintain, and dispose of products and services. The UCCC was originally approved by the National Conference of Com- missioners on Uniform State Laws in 1968. It was revised in 1974 following criticism from consumer groups and has been adopted in nine states: Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming; it has also been adopted in Guam. South Carolina and Wisconsin have enacted CONSUMER PROTECTION codes that are substantially similar to the UCCC, and many states have included particular provi- sions from it in their CONSUMER CREDIT laws. The UCCC is designed to provide protec- tion to consumers who buy goods and services on credit. It attempts to simplify, clarify, and update legislation governing consumer credit and USURY, which is the illegal charging of high interest rates. The UCCC also sets ceilings on the rates consumers can be charged for credit. Other provisions protect consumers against unfair practices by cert ain consumer credit suppliers by limiting the ability of creditors to use state court systems to execute on a consumer debtor’s assets or to garnish a consumer debt- or’s wages. In addition, CONFESSION OF JUDGMENT clauses are barred from consu mer credit con- tracts. Such clauses require a person who borrows money or buys on credit to agree in advance to allow the attorney for the lender to get a court judgment against the borrower in the event of default without even telling the borrower. The UCCC also seeks to comply with the disclosure regulations in consumer credit trans- actions in accordance with the federal CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION ACT of 1968 (16 U.S.C.A. § 1601 et seq.), which mandates that consumers purchasing on credi t be given complete infor- mation on the interest rate, its calculation , the total amount of interest over the life of the contract, payment due dates, late penalties, and collection costs. The UCCC was also proposed as a means of making the law of consumer credit, including administrative rules, more uniform throughout the fifty states. Because it has only been adopted in whole in nine states, the UCCC has not completely met this objective. Nevertheless, the many analogous provisions in state and federal consumer credit laws suggest a common pur- pose. The tightening of consumer credit and rise of interest rates even for people with excellent credit ratings, spurred in part by the economic downturn of 2008, served to underscore the importance of consumer protection legislation. FURTHER READINGS Letsou, Peter V. 1995. “The Political Economy of Consumer Credit Regulation.” Emory Law Journal 44 (spring). Udis, Laura E. 2000. “The ‘New and Improved’ Colorado Uniform Consumer Credit Code.” Colorado Lawyer 29 (December). UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS Annual publications containing criminological data compiled by the FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGA- TION (FBI) and intende d to assist in identifyi ng law enforcement problems, especially with regard to: murder and non-negligent MANSLAUGHTER, forcible rape, ROBBERY, aggravated assault, BUR- GLARY , larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and ARSON. These studies provide a nationwide view of crime because they are based on statistics submitted by law enforcement agencies across the United States. Critics of the Uniform Crime Reports have argued that local police departments may shape their record-keeping practices to produce results that will lend support to departmen tal positions on issues relating to crime and crime control. Most observers generally acknowledge, 168 UNIFORM CONSUMER CREDIT CODE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION however, that the potential for manipulation in record-keeping is not so great as to detract from the essential accuracy of the overall trends depicted in the Uniform Crime Reports. The FBI makes current and historical reports available online at www.fbi.gov/ucr/ ucr.htm. UNIFORM PROBATE CODE The Uniform Probate Code (UPC) is a comprehensive statute that unifies, clarifies, and modernizes the laws governing the affairs of decede nts and their estates, certain transfers accomplished other than by a will, and trusts and their administration. The UPC was origi- nally approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the House of Delegates of the AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIA- TION in 1969 and has been amended several times through 2008. The purpose of the UPC is to modernize probate law and probate admin- istration and to encourage uniformity through the adoption of the code by all 50 states. The UPC, which has been amended numerous times, has been adopted in its entirety by 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. The other 34 states have adopted parts of the UPC, but in general the UPC has not succeeded in providing a uniform body of substantive and procedural probate law. The UPC contains seven substantive articles. Article I contains general provisions, defini- tions, and jurisdictional topics. Article II governs wills and INTESTATE SUCCESSION, which occurs when a person dies without leaving a will. Article III deals with the probate of wills and the administration of estates, article IV concerns the probating of estates in states other than the domicile of the decedent, article V extends protection to persons under disability and their property, and article VI governs nonprobate transfers of property. Article VII contains comprehensive provisions on trust administration. TheprimeobjectiveoftheUPCisto simplify the probate process. For example, article III provides for supervised and unsu- pervised administration of probate. For estates with few assets and no disputes among the beneficiaries , the UPC allows unsupervised administration. In this case the executor of the will, who is called a PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE in the UPC, handles the probating of the estate without direct supervision by the probate court. The personal representative handles every step of the probate process by filing a series of simple forms with the probate court. Unsupervised administration reduces the cost of probate and speeds up the process. Probate courts are freed from dealing with routine matters and may concentrate their efforts on estates with substantial assets or contested matters, where supervised administration is necessary. The adoption of the UPC by state legis- latures has been fought both by attorneys, who are opposed to unsupervised administration and to the overturning of current state laws governing probate, and by bonding companies, which stand to lose business because unsup er- vised probate does not require the posting of a bond. In light of this opposition, the Commis- sioners on Uniform State Laws have developed freestanding acts from similar provisions inte- grated into the UPC. This technique permits provisions, such as those involving powers of attorney and guardianship, to become law without disturbing other parts of a state’s probate code. The UPC has been subject of amendments approved in 1975, 1982, 1987, 1989 , 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2008. The 2008 amendments raised dollar amounts in several sections of the UPC by 50 percent to account for inflation. The amendments also expanded INTESTATE inheritance right to include a broader group of potential heirs. FURTHER READINGS Averill, Lawrence H., Jr. 2001. Uniform Probate Code in a Nutshell. 5th ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group. ———. 1992. “An Eclectic History and Analysis of the 1990 Uniform Probate Code.” Albany Law Review 55 (summer). Stimmel, Andrew. 2002. “Mediating Will Disputes: A Proposal to Add a Discretionary Mediation Clause to the Uniform Probate Code.” Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 18 (fall). Young, Raymond H., and Leiha Macauley. 2009. “At Last! The Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code.” Boston Bar Journal 53 (March/April). CROSS REFERENCES Descent and Distribution; Executors and Administrators; Intestate Succession. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNIFORM PROBATE CODE 169 UNILATERAL CONTRACT A contract in which only one party makes an express promise, or undertakes a performance without first securing a reciprocal agreement from the other party. In a unilateral, or one-sided, contract, one party, known as the offeror, makes a promise in exchange for an act (or abstention from acting) by another party, known as the offeree. If the offeree acts on the offeror’s promise, the offeror is legally obligated to fulfill the contract, but an offeree cannot be forced to act (or not act), because no return promise has been made to the offeror. After an offeree has performed, only one enforceable promise exists, that of the offeror. A unilateral contract differs from a BILATERAL CONTRACT , in which the parties exchange mutual promises. Bilateral contracts are commonly used in business transactions; a sale of goods is a type of bilateral contract. Reward offers are usually unilateral con- tracts. The offeror (the party offering the reward) cannot impel anyone to fulfill the reward offer. An offeree can sue fo r breach of contract, however, if the of feror does not provide the reward after the offeree has fulfilled the contract’s requirements. UNION SHOP A type of business in which an employer is allowed to hire a nonunion worker, who, however, must subsequently join the union in order to be permitted to continue work. A union shop is different from a CLOSED SHOP ; in the latter situation, the employee must be a union member before being hired. CROSS REFERENCES Labor Law; Labor Union. UNITED FARM WORKERS OF AMERICA The United Farm Workers of Americ a (UFW) began in 1962 as a coalition of poorly paid migrant farm workers and grew into a powerful LABOR UNION that has consistently fought to increase wages and improve working conditions for its members. In addition to these issues, the UFW has advocated for stronger environmental protections, better housing, and other social justice issues. The story of the UFW is inextricably intertwined with the biog raphy of its founder, CÉSAR CHÁVEZ. Chávez was born on March 31, 1927, on a small farm in Arizona. After the Chávez family lost the farm (which had been in the family since the 1880s), they moved to California where they became migrant workers. Migrant workers moved from farm to farm picking crops for growers who generally paid low wages and provided no benefits. Entire families harvested fruits and vegetables, moving north as the crops ripened. Migrant housing consisted of dilapidated metal shacks most of which did not have indoor plumbing or running water. Working conditions were uni- formly hot, dirty, and dismal. As pesticide application increased, no protection was pro- vided to the workers who picked the crops with their bare hands. The first wave of migrant workers in the fields of California were small farmers and laborers from Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas who were unable to make a living due to drought and the depression of the 1930s. This group was followed in the 1940s by foreign workers, primarily Mexicans, who were called “braceros.” Chávez and his family labored with other migrant workers traveling from field to field. In 1952, Chávez became involved with the COMMU- NITY SERVICE Organization (CSO) that helped Mexicans and other Latinos to become citizens, register to vote, and to improve their living conditions. After 10 years doing organization work for the CSO, Chávez resigned in 1962 to become a full-time organizer of farm workers. Originally called the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), the new organization grew rapidly. In 1965, the NFWA began a boycott of grape growers in Delano, California. The strike lasted five years. In 1966, Chávez and his followers began a 340-mile trek from Delano to the state capitol in Sacramento to bring the plight of the farm workers to national attention. The march started with 75 people and ended in a rally of 10,000 people on the capitol steps. That same year Schenley Vineyards and the NFWA negotiated the nation’s first union contract between a grower and a farm union. Also in 1966, the NFWA merged with the mostly Filipino American members of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to form the United Farm Workers (UFW). GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 170 UNILATERAL CONTRACT As the strike continued and the story of the farm workers became more widely known in the United States and abroad, many Americans rallied to their cause and joined the boycott of table grapes. By 1970 more than 65 percent of California’s grape growers had signed contracts with the UFW. In order to avoid a similar UFW boycott, a number of Salinas Valley lettuce and vegetable growers signed contracts with the Teamsters Union. In response, the UFW called for a boycott of lettuce and more than 10,000 farm workers in California’s Central Coast went on strike. In 1972 as membership continued to increase, the UFW became the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO. By 1979, the UFW had won pay increases and signed contracts with a significant number of growers of lettuce and other produce. The organization’s membership had grown to approx- imately 100,000. Conflicts with the Teamsters Union, the MURDER of several UFW supporters, and the election of Republican governor George Deukmejian, whose administration supported the growers, led to setbacks for the movement as thousands of farm workers were fired, and UFW membership began to decline. In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, Chávez and the UFW continued to fight for improved conditions for farm workers. On April 23, 1993, Chávez died in his sleep at the home of a farm worker in San Luis, Arizona. Six days later 35,000 mourners walked behind Chávez’s casket during his funeral in Delano. In 1994 President BILL CLINTON posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—to Chávez. Veteran UFW leader Arturo S. Rodriguez succeeded Chávez as president. In 1994 Rodriguez and his supporters retraced the steps of Chávez’s historic trek in 1966. More than 20,000 UFW workers and supporters gathered again on the capitol steps to mark the start of the new UFW campaign to organize and empower farm workers. The reinvigorated UFW signed up more workers in California as well as in Florida and the state of Washington. In the 2000s the UFW continued to fight for better wages, win new COLLECTIVE BARGAINING rights, and gain better housing and sanitation for workers as well as restrict the use of DDT and other dangerous pesticides. The UFW also continued to expand during the 2000s. In 2007 the UFW signed a contract with D’Arrigo Bros, California’s third largest vegetable company. During the same year, the UFW signed a contract with Three Mile Canyon Farms, America’s largest dairy. FURTHER READINGS Ferriss, Susan. 1997. The Fight in the Fields: César Chávez and the Farmworkers Movement. New York: Harcourt. McWilliams, Carey, and Douglas C. Sackman. 2000. Factories in the Fields: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press. Rothenberg, Daniel. 1998. With These Hands: The Hidden World of Migrant Farmworkers Today. New York: Harcourt. United Farm Workers. Available online at http://www.ufw. org/ (accessed June 5, 2009). CROSS REFERENCES Chávez, César; Labor Law; Labor Union. UNITED NATIONS The United Nations (UN) is an organization of 192 states that strives to attain international Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers, and Dolores Huerta, the union’s co-founder, lead a UFW march in Sacramento, California. In the background, a marcher holds aloft a portrait of César Chávez, co-founder of the UFW. AP IMAGES GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION UNITED NATIONS 171 peace and security, promotes fundamental HUMAN RIGHTS and equal rights for men and women, and encourages social progress. The successor to the LEAGUE OF NATIONS, the United Nations stems from the 1941 Inter-Allied Declaration signed by representatives of 14 countries (not including the United States) and the Atlantic Charter signed by President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom. In 1942, 26 countries met in Washington, D.C., and signed the Declar ation by United Nations in a cooperative effort to triumph over German dictator ADOLF HITLER during WORLD WAR II.In addition, wartime conferences in Moscow, Tehran, Yalta, and Washington, D.C. (at the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Georgetown), laid the foundation of the future organization. On June 25, 1945, delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco and unanimously adopted the Charter of the United Nations. By October 24, 1945, China, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and a majority of the charter’s other signatories had ratified it, and the United Nations was officially established. Shortly thereafter the U.S. Congress unanimously invited the United Nations to set up headquarters in the United States, and the organization chose New York City as its permanent home. The United Nations is open to all peace- loving states, a requirement construed liberally over the years. The United Nations consists of six major organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (World Court), and the Trusteeship Council. The Trusteeship Council, which was established to encourage governments to prepare trust territories for self-government or independence,haslargely completeditsoriginal task of supervising 11 non-self-governing territo- ries. In 1994, the Security Council terminated the Trusteeship Agreement of Belau, a trust territory in the western Pacific that had been administered by the United States. As all other trust territories had previously obtained inde- pendence or self-government, the Trusteeship Council amended its rules and meets only as situations requiring action arise. The main deliberative body of the United Nations, the General Assembly, somewhat resembles a parliament; each nation has one vote. The General Assembly has no power to compel any action by a member state, however. It only has the right to discuss and make recommendations on matters within the scope of the UN Charter. Headed by a president elected at each session, the assembly ordinarily meets from mid-September to mid-December; other sessions are held as necessary. Ordinary matters require only a majority vote, but important matters, such as recommendations on peace and security, election of members to the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council, or admission of member states, require a two-thirds majority. The assembly also approves the UN budget (including peacekeep- ing operations), sets policies, determines programs for the UN Secretariat, and, in conjunction with the Security Council’s recom- mendation, appoints the UN secretary-general, the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. The Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining peace and secu- rity. Five permanent members—the United States, China, France, the Russian FEDERATION (replacing the Soviet Union), and the United Kingdom—join ten other members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. A representative of each member of the Security Council must always be present at UN head- quarters so that the council can convene any time peace is threatened. Unlike the other UN organs, member states are obligated under the charter to carry out economic and diplo- matic decisions by the council. All decisions require nine votes, but on all questions except A meeting of the United Nations Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York. AP IMAGES GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION 172 UNITED NATIONS procedural matters, the permanent members must vote unanimously or abstain. This VETO power has been exercised many times and can seriously undermine the Security Council’s ability to take bold steps in tenuous situations. The Security Council usually seeks peaceful means such as mediation or settlement when international peace is threatened. Peacekeepers may be sent to prevent the outbreak of a conflict, or the council may issue a cease-fire directive once fighting has begun. The Security Council may impose economic sanctions and order collective military action. The United Nations was involved in 65 peacekeeping operations between 1948 and 2009; military personnel are drawn from member states. In 2008 the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations Secretariat led 19 missions involving more than 130,000 men and women. A total of 117 member states were involved in these opera- tions. The UN budget for these operations was about $7 billion. The reality of UN peacekeeping efforts often falls short of the organization’s ideals. For example, in the early 1990s UN troops attempted to restore order and provide human- itarian relief during the civil war in Somalia. Warring Somali factions greatly impeded the troops’ efforts, however, and in 1995 the UN forces withdrew without succeeding in their mission. In addition, UN members sometimes pledge support for a mission but fail to deliver tangible evidenc e of that support. In 1994 the secretary-general determined that 35,000 troops would be needed to deter attacks on so-called safe areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Member states authorized fewer than 8,000 troops and took a year to provide them. Nevertheless, the United Nations has had some successes: Its operations in Kashmir, Cyprus, Lebanon, Suez, Cambodia, and Mozambique have been highly praised. The UN established six new missions from 1998 through 2000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, East Timor, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia-Eritrea to deal with conflicts and crises. The United Nations also monitored or observed elections in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and South Africa. The Economic and Social Council, which has 54 members, coordinates the economic and social work of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and institutions. Among other tasks, the council recommends and directs activities to promote economic growth in devel- oping countries, promotes the observance of HUMAN RIGHTS, and attempts to foster coopera- tion in creating housing, controlling popula- tion growth, and preventing crime. Fourteen specialized agencies are separate, autonomous organizations connected to the United Nations by specific agreements, mainly through the Economic and Social Council. Specialized agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the WORLD BANK, the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF), and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Orga- nization (UNESCO). UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund (origina lly the United Nations Interna- tional Children’s Emergency Fund), is a semi- autonomous organization reporting to the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. UNICEF has programs in 144 coun- tries that address children’s needs, including immunization, nutrition, primary HEALTH CA RE, and educat ion. A joint UNICEF-WHO program claims to have immunized 80 percent of the world’s children against polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and tuberculosis. The United Nations also provides humani- tarian aid for countries stricken by war, natural disaster, or famine through UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and other UN programs. In addition, the Office of the UN High Commis- sioner for REFUGEES, part of the Secretariat, helps assist and protect many millions displaced by strife. With a staff numbering in the thousands, the Secretariat carries out the United Nations day-to-day functions in New York and through- out the w orld. Headed by the secretary-general, the Secretariat’s staff represents nearly every member country. The Security Council recom- mends a candidate for secretary-g eneral to the General Assembly, which appoints the secretary- general for a five-year t erm. In addition to admi- nistrative duties, the secretary-general plays an active role in worldwide peacemaking through diplomacy, by employing mediators, or by send- ing representatives to negotiate settlements or otherwise assist in resolving conflicts. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the judicial branch of the United Nations and meets in The GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNITED NATIONS 173 Hague, Netherlands. The General Assembly and the Security Council elect its 15 judges for nine- year terms. Jurisdiction applies only to coun- tries, not individuals. Unless required by a treaty, a country is not obligated to submit to the court’s jurisdiction. However, a country agreeing to have a matter determined by the World Court is obligated to comply with the court’s decision. Competing needs, shifting alliances, pro- blems of managing a huge worldwide BUREAU- CRACY , and the inevitable politics of the organization make it difficult for the United Nations to attain the goals set forth in its charter. Financial difficulties present further challenges. The United Nations is funded by dues from member states and is prohibited from borrowing from financial institutions. By the late 1990s the United States was responsible for a substantial part of the debt by failing to pay its dues. However, after the SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, TERRORIST ATTACKS, President GEORGE W. BUSH moved quickly to pay off the debt. By December 2001 the UN had received $1.67 billion from the United State s, which amounted to payment of two-thirds of the debt. These payments, coupled with the payment of almost $5 billion of annual dues by members placed the UN in better financial shape that it had been in many years. It established a $150 million reserve fun d for peacekeeping missions because of its improved financial condition. The United States has had some controver- sial figures associated with the United Nations. In 2005 Bush appointed John Bolton to serve as Permanent U.S. Repr esentative to the UN. Bolton took a firm stance on reforming the UN Human Rights Commission, which was composed of representative of allegedly abusive regimes. He was known for his abrasive style, and The Economist called Bolton “the most controversial Ambassador ever sent to the United Nations.” By contrast, the New York Times praised Bolton’s position, referring to the Human Rights Commission as “disgraceful.” FURTHER READINGS Conte, Alex, and Richard Burchill. 2009. Defining Civil and Political Rights: The Jurisprudence of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate/ Dartmouth. Daws, Sam, and Paul Taylor with Sara Lodge, eds. 2000. The United Nations. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate/Dartmouth. Holtje, James. 1995. Divided It Stands: Can the United Nations Work? Atlanta: Turner. Ross, Stewart. 2004. United Nations. Chicago: Raintree. United Nations. Available online at www.un.org (accessed August 16, 2003). Ziring, Lawrence, Robert E. Riggs, and Jack C. Plano. 2000. The United Nations: International Organization and World Politics. Fort Worth, Tex.: Harcourt College. CROSS REFERENCES Human Rights; Inter national Law; International Monetary Fund. UNITED STATES–CANADA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT See NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MANUAL A comprehensive directory, published annually, that contains general information about the federal government with emphasis on the EXECU- TIVE BRANCH and regulatory agencies, and also information about Congre ss and the Judicial Branch. In the Un ited States G overnment Manual, the description of each executive department and ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY is described accord- ing to (1) relevant statutes that created and affect the agency or its institutional antecedents; (2) an explanation of the functions and authority of the agency; (3) facts concerning subsidiary units, bureaus, and agencies; (4) the names and functions of the major officials of the agency; (5) organizational charts; and (6) sources of information provided by the agency. The United States Government Manual is available through GPO Access online at www. access.gpo.gov/nara/browse-gm-02.html. UNITED STATES V. ______ See name of opposing party; E.G., NIXON, UNITED STATES V . UNITED STEELWORKERS V. WEBER In United Steelworkers Union v. Weber, 443 U.S. 193, 99 S. Ct. 2721, 61 L. Ed. 2d 480 (1979), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an employer could grant preferential treatment to racial minorities under a private, voluntary AFFIRMA- TIVE ACTION program. Affirmative action is a concerted effort by an employer to rectify past discrimination against specific classes of indivi- duals by giving temporary preferential treat- ment to individuals from these classes when GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 174 UNITED STATES– CANADA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT hiring and promoting until true equal opportu- nity is achieved. The use of affirmative action to correct past RACIAL DISCRIMINATION in employ- ment resulted from the passage of Title VII of the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 (42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e et seq.). Affirmative action has proved controversial; critics claim that it is in fact “reverse discrimination.” Brian Weber, a white production worker at a Kaiser Aluminum plant in Gramercy, Louisiana, claimed that the company’s efforts to increase the number of African Americans in historically segregated categories of employment unfairly prejudiced white workers like himself. In 1974, Kaiser and the United Steelworkers signed a COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT that contained an AFFIRMATIVE ACTION plan designed to eliminate the substantial racial imbalance in Kaiser’s craft workforce. Craft trainees were to be selected on the basis of seniority, with the provision that 50 percent of the openings would be reserved for African American workers until the percentage of African American craftworkers in a plant equaled the percentage of African Americans in the local workforce. During the first year the plan was in operation, seven African American and six white workers were selected for craft training. Several of the successful African American applicants had less seniority than Weber. Weber filed suit, claiming that the minority admissions quo ta violated the ban in Title VII on racial DISCRIMINATION in employment. The district court and the court of appeals agreed with him, but the SUPREME COURT,ona5–2 vote, with two members not participating, reversed the low er court and held that the Kaiser plan was valid. Justice WILLIAM J. BRENNAN JR., in his majority opinion, agreed that Weber’s literal interpre- tation of the act had some justification but noted that the whole purpose of Title VII was to “better the plight of the Negro in our economy.” African Americans had been ex- cluded from craft positions such as carpenter, electrician, plumber, and painter throughout U.S. history. To adopt Weber’s position would prevent employers from voluntarily seeking ways of correcting past discrimination. Brennan wrote that “[i]t would be ironic indeed if a law triggered by a Nation’s concern over cen turies of racial injustice [constituted] the first legisla- tive prohibition of all voluntary, private, race- conscious efforts to abolish traditional patterns of racial SEGREGATION and hierarchy.” The Court held that an affirmative action program was legal if it did not “unnecessarily trammel” the interests of white employees, lead to their discharge, or per manently prevent their promotion. The Kaiser plan was not per- manent but ended when the percentage of skilled African Americans in the plant matched the percentage of African Americans in the local workforce. Therefore, the Court concluded that the affirmative actio n program was designed to correct a manifest racial imbalance rather than maintain racial balance. Justice WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST, in a dissenting opinion, contended that the language of Title VII made it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race. He argued that Congress made a commit- ment to equality in hiring, not to “preferential treatment of minorities.” The Kaiser plan, even though temporary, imposed a “racial quota.” Although the Court has not since disturbed the basic holding in UNITED STEELWORKERS, other lower courts have questioned its continued validity. For instance, in Connerly v. State Personnel Board, 112 Cal. Rptr . 2d 5 (Cal. App. 2001), the California Court of Appeals struck down an affirmative action program applicable to the state’s lottery commission and other state entities, notwithstanding the deci- sion in UNITED STEELWORKERS. FURTHER READINGS Bernhardt, Herbert N. 1993. “Affirmative Action in Employment: Considering Group Interests While Pro- tecting Individual Rights.” Stetson Law Review 23 (fall). Farmer, Victoria E. 1980. “United Steelworkers v. Weber and Its Impact on Title VII Remedies in the Fourth Circuit.” Wake Forest Law Review 16 (June). Meyer, David D. 1989. “Finding a ‘Manifest Imbalance’: The Case for a Unified Statistical Test for Voluntary Affirmative Action under Title VII.” Michigan Law Review 87 (June). “Rethinking Weber: The Business Response to Affirmative Action.” 1989. Harvard Law Review 102 (January). CROSS REFERENCES Civil Rights; Discrimination; Employment Law; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Equal Protection; Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education. UNITIES In real property law, the four characteristics that are peculiar to property owned by several indi- viduals as joint tenants. The four unities are unity of time, unity of title, unity of interest, and unity of posse ssion. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNITIES 175 Unity of time is a characteristic because each joint tenant receives his or her interest at the same time—that is, upon delivery of the deed to the property. Unity of title exists because each tenant receives his or her title from the same grantor, and unity of interest because each tenant owns an undivided interest in the property. Unity of possession exists because each tenant has the right of possession of every part of the whole property. CROSS REFERENCES Estate; Joint Tenancy. UNITRUST A right of property, real or personal, held by one person, the trustee, for the benefit of another, the beneficiary, from which a fixed percentage of the net fair market value of the assets, valued annually, is paid each year to the beneficiary. A unitrust, also known as a charitable remainder trust, is a legal device defined by federal tax laws that is frequently used by wealthy individuals who wish to make a sub- stantial contribution to a school or charitable organization. To establish a unitrust, a donor transfers property to a trust, while retaining the right to receive payments from the trust for a term chosen by the donor. The payments may continue for the lifetime of the trust’s named beneficiaries, a fixed term of not more than twenty years, or a combination of the two. Usually, the term is for the donor’s life and the life of the donor’s spouse. When the term has ended, the trust estate is paid to a public charity designated by the donor. The unitrust donor irrevocably transfers assets, usually cash, SECURITIES, or real estate , to a trustee of the donor’s choice. The trustee could be the charitable organization that will ultimately receive the assets or a bank trust department. During the unitrust’s term, the trustee invests the unitrust’s assets and pays a fixed percentage of the unitrust’s current value, as determined annually, to the income bene- ficiaries. If the unitrust’s value goes up from one year to the next, its payout increases propor- tionately. Likewise, if the unitrust’s value goes down, the amount it distributes also declines. Payments must be at least five percent of the trust’s annual value and are made out of trust income, or trust principal if income is not adequate. Payments may be made annually, semiannually, or quarterly. When the unitrust term ends, the unitrust’s principal passes to the designated charitable organization to be used for the purposes the donor has designated. A unitrust can be financially attractive to a donor because he is allowed a charitable deduction on his income tax return equal to the present value of the charitable organization’s remainder interest in the unitrust, as deter- mined by reference to U.S. Treasury Regula- tions. The deduction is based on the fair market value of the asset transferred, the payout rate chosen, and either the age and number of beneficiaries or the term of years. CROSS REFERENCES Charitable Trust; Charities. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, 1948 See HUMAN RIGHTS. UNJUST ENRICHMENT Unjust enrichment is a general equitable principle that no person should be allowed to profit at another’s expense without making restitution for the reasonable value of any property, services, or other benefits that have been unfairly received and retained. Although the unjust enrichment doctrine is sometimes referred to as a quasi-contractual remedy, unjust enrichment is not based on an express contract. Instead, litigants normally resort to the remedy of unjust enrichment when they have no written or verbal contract to support their claim for relief. In such instances litigants ask a court to find a contractual relationship that is implied in law, a fictitious relationship created by courts to do justice in a particular case. Unjust enrichment has three elements. First, the PLAINTIFF must have provided the DEFEN DANT with something of value while expecting com- pensation in return. Second, the defendant must have acknowledged, accepted, and benefited from whatever the plaintiff provided. Third, the plaintiff must show that it would be inequitable or UNCONSCIONABLE for the defendant to enjoy the benefit of the plaintiff’s actions without paying for it. A court will closely examine the facts of each case before awarding this remedy and will deny claims for unjust enrichment that frustrate PUBLIC POLICY or violate the law. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 176 UNITRUST In some circumstances unju st enrichment is the appropriate remedy when a formally executed agreement has been ruled unenforce- able due to incapacity, mistake, impossibility of performance, or the STATUTE OF FRAUDS.In certain states, for example, contracts with minors are VOIDABLE at the minor’s discretion because persons under the AGE OF MAJORITY are deemed legally incapable of entering into contracts. But if the minor has received a benefit from the other party’s performance before nullifying the contract, the law of unjust enrichment will require the minor to pay for the FAIR MARKET VALUE of the benefit received. If the adult used duress or UNDUE INFLUENCE to induce the minor to enter the contract, however, the court will deny recovery in unjust enrichment because the adult lacked clean hands. In other circumstances unjust enrichment is the appropriate remedy for parties who have entered a legally enforceable contract, but where performance by one party exceeds the precise requirements of the agreement. For example, suppose a homeowner and a builder have entered into a legally binding contract under which the builder is to construct a two-car garage. One day the owner returns to her residence and discovers that in addition to constructing a two- car garage, the builder has paved the driveway. The owner says nothing about the driveway but later refuses to compensate the builder for the paving job. The builder has a claim for unjust enrichment in an amount representing the reasonable value of the labor and materials used in paving the driveway. Suppose, instead, that after completing half the job, the builder tells the owner that he cannot finish the garage as originally agreed but that he wants to be paid for the work he has done. The owner balk s at this demand, arguing that the builder has breached his contractual obligations and is entitled to nothing. A minority of jurisdictions would allow the builder to recover the reasonable value of his services, minus any damages suffered by the own er as a result of the breach. A majority of jurisdictions, however, adhere to the rule that a party who fails to perform contractual obligations has no remedy regardless of the amount of hardship he might endure. The doctrine of unjust enrichment also governs many situations where the litigants have no contrac tual relationship. For example, the law finds an implied promise to pay for emergency medical treatment that is neither requested nor consented to by a patient. In some jurisdictions the law finds an implied promise to pay for lifesaving medical treatment even when a patient objects to receiving it. The law also requires parents to reimburse a person who voluntarily supplies necessaries such as food, shelter, and clothing to their children. As these examples demonstrate, unjust enrichment is a flexible remedy that allows courts great latitude in shifting the gains and losses between the parties as EQUITY, fairness, and justice dictate. Although the terms unjust enrichment and QUANTUM MERUIT are sometimes used inter- changeably, the terms are not synonymous. When a party establishes unjust enrichment, the party may be compensated by an award of quantum meruit, rather than damages. Quan- tum meruit thus relates more to the remedy for unjust enrichment. FURTHER READINGS Calamari, John D., and Joseph M. Perillo. 2004. Contracts. 4th ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West. Dagan, Hanoch. 1997. Unjust Enrichment: A Study of Private Law and Public Values. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. Hurd, Heidi M. 2003. “Nonreciprocal Risk Imposition, Unjust Enrichment, and the Foundations of Tort Law: A Critical Celebration of George Fletcher’s Theory of Tort Law.” Notre Dame Law Review 78 (April). Restatement of the Law, Restitution and Unjust Enrichment: Tentative Draft. 2001. Philadelphia, Pa.: Executive Office, American Law Institute. Smith, Stephen A. 2003. “The Structure of Unjust Enrich- ment Law: Is Restitution a Right or a Remedy?” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 36 (winter). CROSS REFERENCES Quantum Meruit; Quasi Contract. UNLAWFUL Contrary to or unauthorized by law; illegal. When applied to promises, agreements, or contracts, the term denotes that such agree- ments have no legal effect. The law disapproves of such conduct because it is imm oral or contrary to public policy. Unlawfu l does not necessarily imply criminality, although the term is sufficiently broad to include it. UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY A meeting of three or more individuals to commit a crime or carry out a lawful or unlawful purpose GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY 177 . unities are unity of time, unity of title, unity of interest, and unity of posse ssion. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNITIES 175 Unity of time is a characteristic because each joint. three or more individuals to commit a crime or carry out a lawful or unlawful purpose GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY 177 . conflicts. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the judicial branch of the United Nations and meets in The GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION UNITED NATIONS