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Published: January 11, 2008

Long Island stands alone again. Though the union settled with cleaning companies in New York City, Local 32BJ of the Services International Union, which represents about 1,000 commercial cleaners here, has yet to reach an agreement with maintenance contractors on Long Island.

As we reported in February of last year, workers at two buildings were let go when the locations were sold and new cleaning companies took over maintenance. Now comes the latest commercial cleaning controversy: The union and Long Island maintenance contractors are at loggerheads over a new contract. The old deal expired Jan. 1.

An authorization from the rank and file to strike is on the table if no settlement is reached.

Lynsey Kryzwick, a spokeswoman for the union, said new bargaining talks are scheduled for early next week and if agreements aren’t hammered out soon, the strike authorization “could be a telltale sign of what’s going on from there.”