By Doyinsola Oladipo and David Shepardson NEW YORK (Reuters) -Dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast began a strike early on Tuesday, their first large-scale stoppage in nearly 50 years, halting the flow of about half the nation's ocean shipping after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down over wages.

From Maine to Texas, dockworkers at 36 ports across the eastern U.S. are now on strike for the first time in decades.