Earlier this summer, we reported on a new trend—especially prevalent in low-wage industries—where more and more workers aren’t getting paper paychecks or direct deposits to their checking accounts, but instead are finding their wages on prepaid cards. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned employers yesterday about the misuse of prepaid payroll cards and that they cannot require workers receive their wages via prepaid cards.   

The Senate today voted (54-46) to confirm Thomas E. Perez as labor secretary. His nomination had been threatened by a filibuster, but Republicans backed down this week as Democrats were preparing to change Senate rules to allow simple up or down majority votes on executive branch nominees.

With Senate Democrats on the verge of changing Senate rules to block filibusters on executive branch nominees, Senate Republicans yesterday relented on their obstruction tactics that have blocked votes on several of President Obama’s nominees for key Cabinet and agency posts, including the National Labor Relations Board. Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

Senate votes on several of President Obama’s nominees to vital cabinet and agency positions, including Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) members, could come as soon as Monday. Republicans have blocked those and other nominations through Senate rules and filibuster threats.

If the Senate Republican minority continues to use Senate rules to roadblock virtually every one of President Obama’s key nominees to vital government agencies, it’s time for Senate Democrats to use majority muscle to change the Senate’s rules, Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen said today.

When the nation’s housing crisis—fueled by “unscrupulous operators looking to make fast cash”–was beginning to explode, writes Richard Cordray, newly appointed head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in a column on Politico:

President Obama will use recess appointments to name three new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the White House announced this  afternoon.

President Obama will use a recess appointment to name Richard Cordray head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Associated Press (AP) reports this morning. Cordray’s nomination has been blocked by Senate Republicans who want to gut the agency that was created by 2010’s Wall Street reform legislation.

Today, obstructionists in the Senate blocked an up-or-down vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Fifty-three senators voted for Cordray, while 45—all Republicans—voted against ending debate on his nomination. Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) voted for Cordray, and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) voted present.

Some of those in the 1 percent are stepping forward to express their support for the 99 percent, agreeing with Occupy Wall Street protesters that the nation’s financial system is seriously harming our economy. The latest to indicate their support for the 99 percent are the financially savvy members of the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, who are calling for greater corporate transparency, restraint of excessive payouts to executives and support for the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The consumer bureau does not yet have a director because Senate Republicans have blocked a vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the agency.