In a letter last week, WaMu urged its shareholders to resist the unions' calls not to re-elect Pugh and another longtime director, James Stever, who is a retired U.S. West executive and a director at WaMu since 1991.

FORBES: WaMu And Friends

Sir Paul Nurse - director general of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Professor Gordon McVie - director general of the Cancer Research Campaign and Dr John Seffrin, president elect of the International Union Against Cancer, said action needed to be taken now to ensure all patients get the drugs they need wherever they live.

BBC: 'Cancer battle must go global'

But even for incumbents, the first re-election bid is usually the toughest, said Nick Demeter, political director for the National Women's Political Caucus, a non-partisan group that works to elect pro-choice women.

BBC: Democrat women running to stand still