BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo rail worker facing a life-changing amputation is getting help from his union family, who built him a custom wheelchair ramp to ensure he can access his home with independence.
David Garringer, a railroader who was injured on the job in 2023, has been out of work since the accident and has undergone five surgeries. Now, he is facing an upcoming leg amputation next week. Garringer reached out to his union brothers for help with home accessibility.
“This is what we do,” said Dan Banks, Government Affairs representative for the S.M.A.R.T. Transportation Division. “We’re a union. We take care of each other. We circle the wagons just like Buffalo is supposed to do.”
Members of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union, known as S.M.A.R.T., gathered at David’s home on Selkirk Street in Buffalo to build the custom sheet metal wheelchair ramp. The collaboration came together in just one week and they were at Garringer’s home by Friday morning, around 9 a.m., and finished around 1 p.m.
“He’s been getting bad news ever since then and now he’s having to get a leg amputation,” said Adam Kerr, Union Organizer for S.M.A.R.T. Local 71…