The International Longshoremen's Association began striking at midnight. Video posted on social media showed some union members picketing in cities nationwide.

PHILADELPHIA — 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.

Dockworkers at dozens of U.S. ports are digging in for a massive pay increase, seeking to flex their power in a strike that aims to strangle the flow of trade across much of the country.“This is going down in history what we’re doing here,

In the first strike, all East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, in almost 50 years, dockworkers from Maine to Texas walked out on strike at midnight this morning. The International Longshoremen’s Association represents some 40,000 dockworkers at 36 ports who are demanding higher wages and guarantees that jobs won’t be automated.