The Perplexing Middlemen: Private Employment Agencies in the Web of Lives of Seasonal Workers in Early Twentieth Century America

This research project examines the relationship between seasonal migrant workers and private employment agencies in the United States in the early twentieth century. It cites sociologists' studies, government reports on the casual labor market, newspapers, and documents from labor organizations such as Industrial Workers of the World. This thesis challenges the dominant historical narratives of private employment agencies as exploitative by arguing that they were effective labor institutions, thanks to their integral engagement in seasonal workers' everyday lives. Private employment agencies were unique in the precarious labor market due to their physical accessibility, their relationship with other services used by seasonal workers, and their alignment with seasonal workers' code of conduct. Employers motivated intermediary labor institutions to participate in seasonal workers' everyday lives as well. However, private employment agencies' engagement in the web of lives fueled hostility and collective action against themselves. Recognizing the significance of these agencies' social function, labor organizations countered their abuses by intervening and restructuring the space of everyday lives. The research findings of this thesis shed light upon the impact of social lives on decisions in the precarious labor market.