The writers stike......

I guess what I don't understand is why even base salary has to be the same for all writers. Getting back to the NFL example, I understand that because they all work for the NFL, which divides the tv revenue money to all the teams and players. I'm not even sure who the writers even contract with. Using another example, when airline pilots strike, it doesn't shut down all airlines, just the one they work for. Why aren't some shows on, and others not? All writers for anything that ever gets on tv in any manner have to be under same base contracts, regardless of show, network, or production company?