Payton became the chapters president and advocated the hiring of black workers to compensate for the labor shortage caused by World War II.
Payton went to Henderson, North Carolina to assist in negotiations between two local TWUA chapters and the Harriet-Henderson Mill.
They were also unhappy with state government and policy after the Highway Patrol and National Guard were sent to protect strike breakers.
[2] Payton, along with seven other men, was arrested in June 1959 for conspiring to dynamite a Carolina Power & Light Company substation and planning to destroy two mill buildings.
Evangelist Billy Graham, Harry Golden and Burlington Industries President J. Spencer Love proclaimed his innocence and called for his release.