Al Checchi took over 1 Billion (with a B) dollars out of NWA when he left -
clearly his hand picked Board of Directors was on the ball with that one -

That sucks, and the owners should fire the board. But that is a private
decision between the board and the owners (actually public in this case
because of the voting), but it has nothing to do with employees.
Employees work for a company so long as they can add value. When a
company goes belly up, the environment in which the employee can add
value goes away and therefore, the employee should go away. This
natural supply/demand and laws of economics ensure the employee is most
productive (in this case, moving to a company where they can be more
productive). If I over pay my top employees that's my decision, it has
nothing to do with guarantying employment for my employees. Owners will
not want to over pay their employees (CEOs or otherwise) but sometimes
unions push them into it.

-Robert