[The right to contract is] one of the most fundamental rights established under the NLRA [and that it enables] the parties ... to establish through good faith negotiations the terms of their own agreement. This right necessarily incorporates the freedom of contract. In fact, freedom of contract is so fundamental that the parties may agree in certain instances on unreasonable restraints of trade. The freedom to contract also enables the parties to determine the length of their agreement.
Freedom of Contract
The ability of parties to bargain and create the terms of their agreement as they desire without outside interference from government.
Lock, The Scope of the Labor Exemption, 1989 Duke L.J. at 394
