SAG agrees to biz rep mediator

No date set for talks to resume

By DAVE MCNARY

The Screen Actors Guild has agreed to a request by its four dozen business reps for a federal mediator to participate in contract negotiations.

The reps rejected SAG's "last, best, final" offer last week and authorized their negotiators to call a strike if the Guild refused to allow a mediator. SAG had turned down a similar request a month ago.

Jerre Hookey, SAG's Hollywood exec director, said mediator Joe Medine had been selected to participate in the negotiations but added that no date has been set for resumption of the talks. Hookey said the most likely start date would be around Sept. 20.

SAG's offer would have given the reps, who voted to affiliate with the

Teamsters as Local 986, an 8% salary hike over the next year.