Didn't you have to pay for your rating to get into Freedom? Where are they now. Oh yeah at Air NZ. Hmmm so the ALPA fees I paid whilst slaving away in GA went to help Freedom pilots, who paid for their training, get into AirNZ. I wonder if any of those characters are on this thread telling others to stay the path?
Yes.
Yes.
No, your fees and everyone elses, went towards helping Air NZ pilots (and future Air NZ pilots) secure their jobs against Freedom becoming a NZ version of J*....the majority of Freedom pilots were happy to stay where they were (much to the disbelief of ALPA and Air NZ pilots)
Personally, I think ALPA membership is worthless in GA but invaluable in Link/Mt Cook and above...but any union is just a reflection of the members. Not sure if I've ever seen a GA guy stand for an ALPA position (happy to be corrected) All contracts and conditions are negotiated by pilot representatives....under the auspices of ALPA with ALPA legal assistance and by and large, they have resulted in reasonable conditions for members.
I've been an ALPA member for over 20 years and although I haven't agreed with everything they have done (both for and against me) I do acknowledge that we are better off for their contribution.
As for your final question, I doubt there are many ex-Freedom pilots who regret buying their type ratings on the B737, but their result is unlikely to be repeated (none bought them expecting to score a gig with Air NZ that's for sure) I'm unsure what advice they would have for Phoenix....you'd need to ask them. Likewise the guys at Pacblue or Jetconnect, who also paid for their ratings and received ALPA assistance negotiating contracts.