I think perhaps it would be nice to apply the principle of charity (as the HN guidelines require of us). I didn't read it as "smug and gloating", more ":facepalm:".

I doubt the parent is happy about the result, but I at least would question why people would do something that would so obviously get them fired during a pandemic.

Amazon workers deserve better treatment, but, if you're a current employee, trying to affect change should be an internal process, not public. If all internal avenues seem to be failing, the smart move would be a public anonymous criticism. Whistleblowing, effectively.

It sucks that these people got fired for speaking out about something important that they felt strongly about, especially during a time of economic upheaval, but that's what you should expect to happen when you publicly criticize your employer and sign your name to it. They should have thought -- even for a second -- before they spoke.