Digital media company BuzzFeed (BZFD) went public on Monday after a SPAC merger that valued the firm at $1.5 billion, setting it apart from peers like Vox and Vice that remain private.

But some employees aren’t celebrating. The milestone comes days after dozens of workers at the outlet’s news division, which won a Pulitzer Prize this year, walked off the job in protest of a move they say enriches executives while the company refuses a union contract that would raise salaries for employees and bolster worker protections.

BuzzFeed strongly contests that characterization, saying the move to go public will benefit management and workers alike, and that the company is eager to reach a deal with the unionized workers.

The clash marks a flashpoint of worker unrest in the digital media sector, a rare source of union growth in recent years that could draw heightened attention as online outlets begin turning to public markets.

“We are the reason they have a product to take public,” says Addy Baird, a BuzzFeed reporter and chair of the BuzzFeedNews Union, which formed in 2019 and has been bargaining with the company for a contract since that year. “We can’t wait anymore.”

All 61 members of the BuzzFeedNews Union walked off the job last Thursday, the same day the company’s shareholders voted in favor of the plan to take the company public, Baird said. The issues of primary concern for union employees include salary increases, the ability to perform freelance work and post content outside BuzzFeed channels, and the use of traffic metrics in employee evaluations. The union also accused BuzzFeed of needlessly delaying negotiations.

Speaking to Yahoo Finance, the company noted that the union represents a small portion of the roughly 1,100 employees who work at BuzzFeed. As part of the SPAC merger, the company acquired the sports and entertainment publishing company Complex for $300 million, expanding the staff to 1,400, BuzzFeed said.

Contract negotiations were set aside for several months at the outset of the pandemic by emergency talks between management and employees over how to adapt the workplace, BuzzFeed said. The next round of negotiations will take place on Tuesday.

“There’s a bargaining session planned for tomorrow where we look forward to making more progress with the union,” a company spokesperson told Yahoo Finance in a statement. “Today, the company is celebrating an incredible milestone: becoming the first publicly traded digital media company, with Complex Networks in our ranks, and equity for more deals ahead. We couldn’t be more excited about everything that lies ahead for BuzzFeed and its employees.”