Power and money, money and power. Part of the point of criticism is to reduce their opponents power because you don't want to pay more or to paint them as a "bad person" so that they stop whining and get back to work.

The criticism is just a valid a tactic as is the walkout. You might call either immoral or unjust or unfair or whatever you want but in the end it's just folks jockeying for power.

We'll see who wins. Curious where your CEO landed up and whether he made more than his $5M/year