And it was only when they figured this out that they started asking for raises is it? And before that they were content to work for whatever wages were on offer

And it was only when they figured this out that they started asking for raises is it? And before that they were content to work for whatever wages were on offer? What a crock of nonsense. Workers always asked for more. What changed was leverage. Trust me, at some point in the future the leverage will be lost for whatever reason. People will still ask for raises but may or may not get them.