労(ろう)働(どう)者(しゃ) roudoushaたち tachiは wa賃(ちん)上(あ)げ() chin'ageを o求(もと)め()て()い()た() motometeita。 The workers had been demanding a pay raise. Literal Workers [topic-は] wage-raise [object-を] seeking-were. 求めていた ('had been seeking') uses ~ていた for an ongoing past state of demanding. 賃上げ (ちんあげ, 'wage increase') is standard labor/business vocabulary. The past continuous implies the demand was sustained over time. work~ていた (past progressive/state)
労(ろう)働(どう)者(しゃ) roudoushaたち tachiは wa賃(ちん)上(あ)げ() chin'ageを o求(もと)め()て()い()た() motometeita。 The workers had been demanding a pay raise. Literal Workers [topic-は] wage-raise [object-を] seeking-were. 求めていた ('had been seeking') uses ~ていた for an ongoing past state of demanding. 賃上げ (ちんあげ, 'wage increase') is standard labor/business vocabulary. The past continuous implies the demand was sustained over time. work~ていた (past progressive/state)