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.

The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress

Tens of thousands of dockworkers ports from Maine to Texas walked off the job early Tuesday as they go strike in demand for better wages and protections against automation.