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186 Chris Bennerof human resource administrative services to firms. They are similar to temporaryhelp firms in that they act as the legal employer of record for employeeswho are doing work for a client firm. They are distinct from temporary helpfirms in that their employees are “permanently” working for the client firm.Typically, the PEO and the client firm have a joint-employer relationship tothe employee. PEOs do not generally actively recruit, but they do provide awider range of additional human resource administrative services for a morecomprehensive range of employees than temporary help firms typicallyprovide. This includes administering benefits packages, providing payrollservices, ensuring compliance with employment regulations, and sharingresponsibility for the management of employees. While PEOs are relativelysmall as a category of intermediaries in Silicon Valley, they are growing veryrapidly. They act as labor market intermediaries in the employment sphere bydeveloping economies of scale in the “business of employment” for a range ofsmall and medium-sized firms.Membership-based IntermediariesA second broad category of labor market intermediaries includes those whoseorganizational base is rooted in the membership of individual employees. Thiscategory includes professional associations, guilds and guild-like associations,and various union initiatives, which have become increasingly prominent inrecent years (Benner, 2003a). The intermediary activities of these organizationsrange from creating job listings and organizing networking opportunitiesto providing skills training and building learning communities. Their strategieshelp to build ties between workers and employers, and shape the nature of thatrelationship in ways that aim to improve the labor market outcomes of theirmembers. Membership-based intermediaries are rooted in particular occupations.The skills, knowledge base, work practices, and labor market experiencesassociated with each occupation provide organizational coherence andshape the structure and activities of the association. Many occupations inSilicon Valley face rapidly changing skill requirements and high levels ofvolatility in employment conditions. In response, these membership associationshave arisen as a means to provide improved career opportunities for theirmembers.Membership-based intermediaries can be thought of as existing on acontinuum, based on the extent to which they actively advocate for theirmembers in the labor market. At one end of the spectrum are professionalassociations, such as the Society for Technical Communication or the HTMLWriters Guild, that act primarily as an information intermediary, providingnetworking opportunities and linkages between employers and workers inparticular occupations and helping to provide guidance on changes in skill