U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down Tuesday when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977. A lengthy shutdown could raise prices on goods around the country and potentially cause shortages and price increases at big and small retailers alike as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

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

Dockworkers at major ports along the US East and Gulf Coasts began walking off the job Tuesday after last-minute negotiations yielded no new labor contract, a stoppage expected to drag

U.S. ports from Maine to Texas could shut down if a union representing about 45,000 dockworkers carries through with a threatened strike early Tuesday.