The largest state employee union said Friday the administration of Gov. Bruce Rauner has declared an impasse in talks on a new labor agreement.

Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said negotiators representing Rauner announced talks were at an impasse and that they would no longer participate in negotiations. AFSCME said the administration made the declaration at the end of a bargaining session Friday afternoon.

AFSCME represents about 36,000 state government employees.

“We are shocked that the Rauner administration would walk away and refuse to continue negotiations,” AFSCME executive director Roberta Lynch said in a statement. “The governor’s rash action invites confrontation and chaos. It is not the path to a fair agreement.”

However, the Rauner administration said it is AFSCME that is not willing to negotiate. Friday was the 67th bargaining session held by the two sides to reach a new agreement to replace the contract that expired June 30.

“Like every previous session, AFSCME rejected all of the governor’s core proposals and insisted that they would never agree to those proposals despite our good faith efforts to address union concerns,” Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said in a statement. “In light of that position, our negotiators asked AFSCME if they believed we were at an impasse.”

Under an agreement to keep the old contract terms in effect while negotiations continue, both sides can agree that an impasse exists. However, if they disagree, as is the case now, the issue will be decided by the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The NLRB can’t take up the issue until one side or the other formally files with the board, which has not yet happened.

“In reality, there is no impasse between our union and the Rauner administration,” Lynch said. “Until the final minutes of today’s meeting, both parties continued to exchange proposals on many issues. There has been no hint that the administration would simply refuse to continue to negotiate.”

Lynch said if the administration does not return to the bargaining table, the union will take legal action.

“It is a violation of state labor law for a party to declare impasse where none exists,” she said.

Trover, though, said AFSCME rejected the idea of holding additional bargaining sessions next week.

“After a year of no meaningful progress, we must now evaluate the benefit of future sessions given AFSCME’s intransigence,” he said. “In light of their answers today, we will now decide if the previously agreed dispute resolution process should be considered.”

AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said the union was only asked at the last minute about holding negotiating sessions next week. He said the union bargaining committee was not available for talks next week, but offered to meet at any time during the following three weeks, an offer Lindall said was rejected.

The administration released a chart showing eight proposals advanced by state negotiators that they said were either rejected outright by AFSCME or largely rejected. The administration wants to impose a merit pay program, pay overtime after 40 hours rather than 37.5, change bumping procedures, freeze step and general pay increases and make changes to employee health insurance. The administration said AFSCME rejected merit pay, length of work week and layoff changes, and also wants to continue step and general pay increases.

Lynch said the administration’s insurance plan will double employee costs, “making the state’s health plan the worst in the nation for any state workforce.” That, coupled with a wage freeze for four years, will hurt worker pocketbooks, she said.

“Our union believes that public service workers, like all working people, deserve wages that can sustain a family and health care they can afford,” she said.

AFSCME has repeatedly said it believes Rauner wants to force a strike by state workers. There has never been a strike by AFSCME in the 40 years that the union has represented state workers.

The Rauner administration insists it bargains in good faith with public worker unions, touting agreements it has reached with five Teamsters locals and a dozen trade unions representing about 5,300 workers. The Teamsters locals agreed to a four-year wage freeze. Wages for the trade unions are set by prevailing wage laws.

-- Contact Doug Finke: doug.finke@sj-r.com, 788-1527, twitter.com/dougfinkesjr.