The Bay View massacre (sometimes also referred to as the Bay View Tragedy) was the result of a strike held on May 4, 1886, by 7,000 building-trades workers and 5,000 Polish laborers who had organized at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to strike against their employers, demanding the enforcement of an eight-hour work day.[1] A few days earlier, on May 1, a peaceful demonstration had been held in nearby Chicago, with similar demands.
Just because some companies supported it (like ford so people had more time to use cars and spend money) or some religions allowed it to support their practices, doesn't mean it wasn't a "crazy leftist idea" by today's standards.
You just read "leftist" and couldn't help adding your own narrative.
The present-day concept of the relatively longer 'week-end' first arose in the industrial north of Britain in the early 19th century[4] and was originally a voluntary arrangement between factory owners and workers allowing Saturday afternoon off starting at 2 pm on the basis that staff would be available for work sober and refreshed on Monday morning.[10] The Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the term weekend to the British magazine Notes and Queries in 1879.[