Debru Carthan serves as vice president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which represents more than 120,000 healthcare workers in California and is one of the largest unions of its kind in the country. Alongside SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan, Carthan manages the union’s $140 million annual budget.

SEIU-UHW members elected Carthan as vice president in April 2026. She has nearly 30 years of experience working on the frontlines at Kaiser Permanente, including as a certified radiologic technologist, and has spent over ten years in union leadership roles.

Carthan has held leadership roles at every level within SEIU-UHW.

• She started her union leadership as a steward at Kaiser Oakland and later became chief steward in her department.
• She was elected to SEIU-UHW’s Executive Committee as the representative for Kaiser Pod 9, where she helped lead members through contract negotiations with Kaiser Permanente.
• In March 2020, she joined SEIU-UHW’s Executive Board, which is one of the largest democratically elected union boards in California.

Carthan played a key role in guiding healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• As part of the group known as “The Pandemic E-Board,” Carthan helped lead the union’s efforts to secure personal protective equipment for all healthcare workers, including those in environmental services and respiratory therapy.
• She helped organize members to support SB 275, which requires California hospitals to keep a 45-day supply of pandemic-level PPE, and AB 1867, which provided 80 hours of COVID-19 paid sick leave.
• Carthan also led the union’s response to racial injustice in 2020, working to address the disparities that caused higher illness and death rates among Black and Brown workers and patients.

Carthan is a strong advocate for using political action to protect healthcare workers and patients.

• As a longtime leader in SEIU-UHW’s legislative program, Carthan has lobbied state legislators both in Sacramento and in their home districts. She has also served as a delegate to the California Democratic Party.
• In 2025, Carthan helped start the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, which proposes a one-time 5% emergency tax on California’s billionaires to make up for about $100 billion in federal healthcare cuts and keep hospitals, clinics, and emergency rooms open.
• She is currently leading SEIU-UHW members in the effort to pass Proposition 40, which will be on the November 2026 ballot.

As vice president, Carthan is focused on strengthening member leadership and encouraging members to take ownership of the union.

• Carthan has promised to serve all SEIU-UHW members, working with them in hospitals, clinics, and Kaiser facilities throughout Northern and Southern California.
• She is dedicated to developing the next generation of union leaders who will organize, negotiate, and fight for quality, affordable healthcare for everyone in California.

Carthan’s dedication to supporting working families comes from her own experiences. As a young single mother in school, she depended on Medi-Cal and SNAP to care for her family. Early in her career at Kaiser, she lost her job while pregnant with her second child. That experience inspired her to stand up for others whenever she could.