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.

Dockworkers on East and Gulf coasts hit picket lines in strike that could bring higher prices and shortages of goods.

Workers who load and unload shipping containers from cargo ships are at an impasse in labor contract negotiations.