‘Inhumane and unacceptable’: Sen. Bernie Sanders criticizes Jacksonville maritime company after worker death, layoffs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United States Senator Bernie Sanders is taking aim at a large maritime company in Jacksonville, accusing the company of “illegal union-busting” and unsafe work conditions.

Sanders, a progressive from Vermont who has been an outspoken advocate for workers’ rights, wrote a letter to the President and CEO of BAE Systems, Tom Arseneault, urging the company to improve working conditions and allow the shipyard workers in Jacksonville to exercise their constitutional right to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.

The call comes after the death of a worker last month and the layoff of nearly 200 Jacksonville workers last week.

“It is understandable that these workers feel their only option to improve their working conditions is to exercise their constitutional right to form a union and collectively bargain for better working conditions. It is deeply disturbing to me that BAE has chosen to turn to union-busting tactics, including hiring out-of-state consultants and trying to buy out union supporters—forcing the remaining workers to do the same amount of work with half the workers, or even less. Unions are not new to BAE shipyards—your workers in Jacksonville deserve the same respect as your union workers in Norfolk, Virginia,” Sanders wrote in the letter.

Sanders noted that last year, BAE made more than $2.7 billion in profit.

“If BAE could afford to pay you, Mr. Arseneault, more than $17 million in total compensation, it can afford to treat all of its workers with the respect and dignity they deserve,” Sanders wrote. “As you know, BAE received at least $12.6 billion in federal funds last year alone and more than $170 billion total in federal contracts since 2007. The American people do not want their taxpayer dollars going to large corporations that abuse and disrespect their workers while spending obscene amounts of money on stock buybacks and dividends.”

Sanders said that he spoke to multiple workers at the Jacksonville facility and they said the man who died in May, identified as Anthony Elrod, died in a “preventable workplace disaster.”

Sanders also said he was told workers regularly work in dangerous and unsafe conditions, including temperatures of up to 115 degrees with no ventilation.

“That is inhumane and unacceptable,” he wrote.

In a response to Sanders obtained by News4JAX, Arseneault said the company fully supports employees’ right to engage in collective bargaining. BAE said the layoffs “are in no way connected to our employees’ interest in organizing.”

“As you noted, many of our employees are union members, and we have longstanding, positive relationships with our unions and their leadership across our company. We value our union relationships, and we will continue to work closely with them in the best interest of our shared goals,” he said.

Arseneault said the “tragic loss” of Elrod has caused much grief within the company, but Arseneault said he took exception to several of Sanders’ accusations.

“A number of the claims you made are inaccurate, and we are concerned that drawing conclusions at this stage, while the investigation continues, does a disservice to the people involved with this tragic accident. We are conducting a thorough investigation and are fully cooperating with the appropriate regulatory and investigatory authorities,” Arseneault wrote in a response to Sanders.

The job cuts in Jacksonville represent close to a quarter of the company’s local workforce of 900 employees. BAE Systems performs ship repairs, maintenance, and overhaul work for the U.S. Navy, the cruise industry, and others.

In a statement, Senior Communications Manager Laura Clifford said the company decided to scale back its local headcount to match the expected workload.

“We made the difficult decision to right-size the Jacksonville workforce to efficiently execute the workload expected through the end of the year,” Clifford said. “As the workforce reduction unfolds, we will keep the appropriate level of skills and capability to deliver high-quality ship maintenance services to the U.S. Navy and customers.”

BAE Systems opened a new $200 million ship lift on the St. Johns River in June 2025, expanding the shipyard’s docking capacity by 300%. The system can accommodate a Flight III U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer and move dry-docked ships to repair berths inside the yard.