The American Radio Association (ARA) is a labour union representing marine radio operators and electronic officers in the United States. The union's origins lie in the Marine Division of the American Communications Association, which was created in the 1930s and successfully campaigned for the recognition of radio operators as officers. In 1948, the division split away, and sought a merger with the National Marine Engineers' Benefit Association. However, that union rejected the idea, and the division was instead chartered by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) as the ARA.