Steel workers at Latrobe Specialty Steel voted last night to end their strike and return to work while continuing to negotiate a new contract, a union official said.

The 360 members of the United Steelworkers Local 1537 walked out on the manufacturer of precision-engineered aerospace alloys May 1 after their contract expired.

The union will wait for the company to agree to allow members to go back to work while the contract is negotiated, said Howard Scott, of the USW's strategic campaigns department.

The union is looking for wage increases and to maintain its current health care and pension benefits plans. The company favors lump-sum bonuses over wage increases and wants new hires to have 401(k) plans rather than pensions, Mr. Scott said.