Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.

Tens of thousands of dockworkers from ports spanning Maine to Texas walked off the job early Tuesday as they went on strike, demanding better wages and protections against automation. The strike comes as the contract between the International Longshoremen's Association union and U.