(ASTORIA, QUEENS) – Earlier this week, Members of SMART (International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers) Local 28, Laborers Local 79, Steamfitters Local 638, community supporters and other Union Workers rallied in front of the Tribeca Film Center, calling on self-professed Union Man Robert De Niro to stop cutting corners on workplace standards by using Non-Union Construction Contractors - which have a history of safety violations - on his new Wildflower Studio project in Astoria, Queens.

"It is truly disappointing to know that fellow New Yorker and self-proclaimed Union Advocate/Member Robert De Niro is building his ($700 million), state-of-the-art studio in Queens using exploited Workers and with a general contractor who is a defendant in fifty separate lawsuits," said Eric Meslin, who serves as President and Business Manager of SMART Local 28.

De Niro has long benefitted from his Union Membership with both SAG and AFTRA and has spoken publicly in support of Organized Labor, including during his viral 2020 SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award acceptance speech.

However, while De Niro and the Wildflower Studio Development Team promised Union Jobs for Astoria Community Members when seeking public approval for the project, they have since contracted with aggressively Non-Union, exploitative companies during construction, Union Representatives charged.

For More On This Labor News Report, Read: Unions Protest Against Screen Legend Robert De Niro For Building His Astoria Film Studios Without Union Labor At https://qns.com/2022/08/unions-protest-against-screen-legend-robert-deniro-for-building-his-astoria-film-studios-without-union-labor/

And For More, Read: NYC Building Trades Members Call On Robert De Niro To Build Wildflower Studio With Union Workers At www.nycclc.org/news/2022-06/nyc-building-trades-members-call-robert-de-niro-build-wildflower-studio-union-workers?link_id=2&can_id=d28a0e75022b91d73fc95bc86b686390&source=email-union-matters-august-12-2022&email_referrer=email_1636544&email_subject=union-matters-august-19-2022