For a long time, the whole idea of Labor Day seemed a bit odd and contradictory to me. No doubt some of this confusion dates back to my school years, when each fall, the holiday was explained with some variation of, “Labor Day is a federal holiday that honors the American worker. See you on Tuesday, class. Don’t forget: science reports are due next week.”

So … a holiday intended to celebrate the achievements and work ethic of our country’s laborers … and we do this by not working.

You can see why a young person might be baffled.

But the truth of Labor Day is actually a lot more interesting. Turns out it’s revolutionary. Even a bit mysterious.

What we do know as fact is this:  Labor Day originated as a one-day strike in New York City on September 5, 1882. Union organizers encouraged both skilled and unskilled laborers to take an unpaid day off, and to march through the aptly-named Union Square in a show of solidarity. Their ultimate goal:  a shorter work week and fewer hours on the job.

Labor unions have certainly suffered in the public perception over the past few decades. You can argue whether that loss of stature is deserved or not, but at the point in history when Labor Day was conceived, unions served a critical purpose. In the late 1800s, the average factory employee worked 60+ hours (a decrease from a 70-hour average a few decades earlier) and, in many cases, seven days per week. Unions were instrumental in pressuring employers to implement a six-day work week and to scale back to an eight-hour day, as well as advocating for safer factory conditions, basic workers rights, and abolishing child labor and other practices that still exist in some parts of the world.

The cause was popular:  workers wanted time with their families, local businesses stood to gain if the employed had more free time to spend their earnings, and politicians seized upon an opportunity to garner favor among voters. In 1887, just five years after unions organized that first march in NYC, President Grover Cleveland authorized a Labor Day celebration to honor workers.

In 1894, Congress passed a bill designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day, a federal holiday. The legislation came swiftly on the heels of a violent labor uprising during which President Cleveland dispatched more than 10,000 soldiers to crush a railroad workers strike, disbanded the American Railway Union and imprisoned the group’s leader. The political climate was volatile. Many people believed the new holiday was intended to placate labor unions and workers in an election year.

When we try to pinpoint the individual who first conceived the idea of Labor Day, that’s where we run into a bit of mystery.

From the very earliest days, many reputable sources credited New York carpenter Peter McGuire with first suggesting the 1882 strike. McGuire co-founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and went on to help establish the American Federation of Labor—the group that put the AFL in AFL-CIO, which today is the largest association of unions in the world, representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.

More recently, historians have attributed that first one-day strike in 1882 to Matthew Maguire, a machinist and outspoken leader in New York’s Central Labor Union. They claim that Maguire—who went on to be the Vice Presidential candidate for the Socialist Labor Party of America in 1896—was seen by many as simply too radical to be accepted by the mainstream, so leaders in the labor movement took advantage of the convenient similarity in the two men’s last names and credited the less-controversial Peter McGuire as the man behind the first Labor Day.

That’s right, folks:  a politically-motivated conspiracy. A novel idea, indeed.

Whatever its origin, that first September 1882 Labor Day strike helped organize the nation’s laborers and, in time, create a better balance between work and family. According to studies by the U.S. Department of Labor, today the average work week in most industries is slightly more than 40 hours.

Oddly enough, technology may be the newest enemy in the age-old battle against long work hours and lack of time off. You might think we learned the lesson long ago, but take a look around:  the 1800s could be making a comeback, given how many employees are never truly disconnected from their jobs. A Harvard Business School survey in 2008 showed that 94% of professionals work 50+ hours per week, with almost half clocking over 65 hours, and with ever-more-capable devices keeping us constantly in reach, I suspect the statistics have only gotten worse in the years since the study.

Quite honestly, on any given day, I couldn’t imagine having much in common with a late-19th-century union labor organizer. But fellow parents, I’m going to follow in the footsteps of McGuire or Maguire or whatever his name, and propose something truly radical on this federal holiday marking the end of summer (and to many of us, little else):  let’s NOT work if we’re fortunate enough to have the choice. Mom, show by example that a day of rest and relaxation is a good thing. Dad, your kids need to see that your job isn’t all-consuming. Mute the iPhone. Power off the laptop. Because work will be there tomorrow, but your days are a few handbreadths, your lifetime as nothing before God. You won’t look back in 20 years and lament, “I really wish I had worked more when the kids were young.”

You won't look back in 20 years and lament, 'I really wish I had worked more when the kids were young.' Click To Tweet

The minutes of our children’s lives are turning into hours; the hours into days, weeks, and years. Our time with them is a precious gift—and they deserve our attention today.